Prevalence of Self-reported Arthritis and Its Epidemiologic Characteristics in Korea

Uhm, Wan Sik; Yun, Jeong E; Park, Yong Wook; Kim, Hye Ryun; Nam, Jung Ja; Lee, Hye Soon; Kim, Tae Hwan; Jun, Jae Bum; Yoo, Dae Hyun; Bae, Sang Cheol

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The aim of our study was to define the prevalence, demographic data, selection of the medical services and disability of the patients with self-reported arthritis which were based on the data of National Health and Nutrition Survey (NHNS) conducted by Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs (KIHASA) and Ministry of Health and Welfare in 1998. MEHTODS: By a stratified multistage probability sampling method, 200 sample districts which consisted of total 13,523 households were selected all over the country. The investigation started with a basic household survey which was completed in 12,189 households with exclusion of non-kinship family. The Health Interview Survey was subdivided to 5 parts including the basic household survey (n=39,060), the diseases survey (n=26,448), and the disability survey (n=694).
RESULTS
An estimated 8.0% of Koreans had some form of self-reported arthritis in 1998 and this proportion was higher than that of other chronic medical conditions such as peptic ulcer disease, hypertension, and diabetes mellitus (DM) -7.0%, 4.5%, and 2.2%, respectively. Arthritis was more prevalent among people with female, increasing age, lower income (less than 500 thousand \ per month), lower educational attainment (less than 9 years), and lower standard of living. Especially, arthritis ranked first in prevalence as the cause of the chronic disease in the population aged over 45 years, with the prevalence rate of 22.6%. People with arthritis were more likely to report functional limitations such as activities of daily living (ADL) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) (5.4%), compared with people who had other musculoskeletal diseases, such as low back pain (3.8%), and herniated intervertebral disc (2.8%). The loss of productivity from arthritis was estimated to reach 0.25% of gross domestic product (GDP) amounts to won 1,133 billion per year which was remarkably higher than that of cardiovascular diseases or cancers.
CONCLUSION
Arthritis has a major impact on the health profile of our population. High burden of arthritis in our society should be considered as an important factor in planning health care services and setting research priorities.