May Is National Arthritis Awareness Month
May is recognized each year as National Arthritis Awareness Month. Arthritis is a disease that impacts more than 50 million Americans, making it the number one cause of disability in the country. That means 1 in every 5 adults, 300,000 children and countless families are affected by arthritis. These numbers are only going to keep growing—unless we take a stand.
The Arthritis Foundation is leading the way to conquer arthritis and its effects through our advocacy efforts at the state level and on Capitol Hill, our cutting-edge scientific research, and our tools and resources that help you live your best life.
The first steps in conquering arthritis are learning the facts, understanding your condition and knowing that help is by your side. Below, you’ll find some telling statistics about the current impact of arthritis on the U.S. population, resources to help you learn more about arthritis, and additional information on how you can help and get involved.
Arthritis by the Numbers:
- Nearly 53 million adults have doctor-diagnosed arthritis; that number is expected to grow to 67 million by 2030.
- Almost 300,000 babies, kids and teens have arthritis or a rheumatic condition.
- Arthritis is the nation’s No. 1 cause of disability.
- Working-age men and women (ages 18 to 64) with arthritis are less likely to be employed than those of the same age without arthritis.
- 1/3 of working-age people with arthritis have limitations in their ability to work, the type of work they can do or whether they can work part time or full time.
- People with osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis –two major kinds of arthritis – miss a combined 172 million workdays every year.
- Arthritis and related conditions account for more than $156 billion annually in lost wages and medical expenses.
- There are nearly 1 million hospitalizations each year due to arthritis.
- 57% of adults with heart disease have arthritis.
- 52% of adults with diabetes have arthritis.
- 44% of adults with high blood pressure have arthritis.
- 36% of adults who are obese have arthritis.
- 1/3 of adults with arthritis age 45 and older have either anxiety or depression.
Resources That Can Help:
- Learn more about the different types of arthritis on the Arthritis Foundation website
- Check out resources to help you find ways to live better with arthritis
- Learn more about the tools and resources offered to help you manage your disease
- Sign up for e-newsletters to stay updated on the latest news and information related to arthritis
How You Can Get Involved:
- Sign up to participate in an event and help fundraise for a cure.
- Learn more about advocacy efforts and sign up to become an Arthritis Foundation Advocate.
- Learn more about the scientific discovery being done to help find a cure.
- Make a donation – over 75 cents of every dollar raiseed supports Arthritis Foundation’s mission of finding a cure and providing tools and resources to improve lives.
- Become a Champion of Yes – tell your story. We can all learn from each other when it comes to arthritis. What do you do to overcome the obstacles arthritis creates? What gives you hope? What are you most proud of? How has arthritis changed your life?
This information has been made available courtesy of blog.arthritis.org.
