Action needed to halt the growing global impact of arthritis

Lower back andneck pain continue to be the leading cause of disability around the world and the impact ofosteoarthritis is increasing, with a new study revealing that more must be done to preventarthritis and support people with these painful, disabling conditions. Global burden of musculoskeletal conditions A new analysis of data produced by the Global Burden of Disease study has shown that over the last 25 years, lower back and neckpain have consistently been the leading cause of years lived with disability (YLD) globally, with the impact of other musculoskeletal conditions also increasing. For example, osteoarthritis has grown from being the 19th most common cause of YLD in 1990 to become the 13th most common in 2015. Further new data, based on disability adjusted life years (DALYs) - a measure that reflects both life-years lost and YLDs - also shows the increasing impact of musculoskeletal conditions on health worldwide. Low back and neck pain are now the fourth most common cause of global DALYs, having risen from 12th place in 1990. Osteoarthritis alone is now the 13th most prominent cause of DALYs, up from 19th in 1990. People spending more years living with illness and disability The findings on musculoskeletal conditions are part of a wider trend revealed by the research. Although healthy life expectancy has increased steadily between 1990 and 2015 in 191 out of 195 countries included in the study - by 6.1 years - it has not risen as much as overall life expectancy, w...
Source: Arthritis Research UK - Category: Rheumatology Source Type: news