A form of joint disorder that involves inflammation of one or more joints.
Arthritic pain has annual direct healthcare expenses of an estimated $81 billion, with indirect costs of $189 billion annually.
There are over 100 different forms of arthritis.
The most common form, osteoarthritis is degenerative joint disease, is the result of trauma, infection of the joint, or age.
Other arthritis forms are rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, and related autoimmune diseases.
Septic arthritis is caused by joint infection.
The major complaint is joint pain, due to inflammation that occurs around the joint and damage to the joint from disease.
Estimated that 21.6% of the adult U.S. population has the diagnosis of arthritis and 8.3% have arthritis that limits activities.
Prevalence higher in women compared with men, 25.4% vs. 17.6%.
Prevalence in individuals older than 65 years is 50%, with 29.3% for persons aged 45-64 years of age, and 7.9% for persons 18-44 years of age.
Up to 15% of newly diagnosed cases of arthritis are due to parvovirus 19 (Corcoran A).
Several diseases where arthritis is considered the main feature and include:
Osteoarthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis
Gout and pseudo-gout
Septic arthritis
Ankylosing spondylitis
Juvenile idiopathic arthritis
Still’s disease
When arthritis is considered to be secondary to the main disease, and these include:
Psoriasis (Psoriatic arthritis)
Reactive arthritis
Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome
Haemochromatosis
Hepatitis
Lyme disease
Inflammatory bowel disease
Henoch-Schönlein purpura
Hyperimmunoglobulinemia D with recurrent fever
Sarcoidosis
TNF receptor associated periodic syndrome
Wegener’s granulomatosis and vascularitis syndromes
Familial Mediterranean fever
Systemic lupus erythematosus