Arthritis Levels Reach 15 Percent In Australia

Arthritis is known as one of the most common health concerns, affecting millions of people across the world. It’s most likely to occur later in life, but the disease can attack anyone at virtually any time. There are a number of different forms of this disease that attacks the cartilage in the joints. And new figures show exactly how bad the problem now is in Australia.

Over three million Australians reported having arthritis last year. Between 2011 and 2012, 14.8 percent of Australians (that’s around 3.3 million) had arthritis. Interestingly, women reported a higher prevalence than men – around 18 percent and 12 percent respectively.

More than 56 percent of the sufferers had osteoarthritis; this is the form that is caused by wear and tear on the joints as we get older. 14 percent had rheumatoid arthritis which is an autoimmune disease that causes the body’s own immune system to attack the cells of the cartilage. 37 percent had an unspecified form of arthritis.

Ageing also made arthritis far more prevalent. Just 1 percent of people under 25 had the disease, while 52 percent of those aged 75 and over reported suffering with the condition. It was also noted that women over the age of 45 were considerably more likely to develop arthritis than men of the same age.

One particularly strong example was at age 75 and over where 60 percent of women of women had arthritis compared with 42 percent of men. It’s not exactly known why women are more likely to experience this disease than men, and more research into the area is probably necessary work out the underlying causes.

Arthritis is becoming an increasing problem, especially for elderly people. It’s important to take preventative measures to ensure your risk of contracting the disease is as low as possible.