Targeting Arthritis
Reducing Disability for Nearly 19 Million Americans

Source: http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/publications/aag/arthritis.htm

• In 2003, 37% of West Virginia adults reported that they had been diagnosed with arthritis. This rate was the highest in the United States. Thirty-five percent (35%) of men and 39% of women reported having arthritis.
• The CDC estimates that a total of $750 million was expended in West Virginia in 1997 on arthritis-related conditions.
• West Virginia adults with arthritis are significantly more likely than those without arthritis to be obese (34% vs. 24%, respectively) and physically inactive (36% vs. 23%, respectively).
• People with arthritis in West Virginia are also more likely to report high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, and asthma than are people without arthritis.
• Arthritis-related hospitalization charges for West Virginia residents in West Virginia hospitals increased 119% from 1996 to 2003.
• Average charges for 2003 arthritis-related hospitalizations were highest for rheumatoid arthritis, followed by osteoarthritis of the spine and lupus.

West Virginia Arthritis Coalition

While the focus of the medical community is on treating arthritis in the individual patient, the public health approach targets the entire population. In order to impact the burden of arthritis in West Virginia, further definition of the problem in the state is of highest priority, i.e., identifying the needs of those residents who suffer from, or are at risk for, arthritis. Awareness of the condition and the fact that prevention strategies do exist, e.g., weight control, physical activity, injury prevention in sports and the workplace, and protection from tick bites and the potential for Lyme disease, must be emphasized, both to the general public and to health care providers. The importance of early diagnosis must also be stressed, for it is estimated that 200,000 people nationwide do not see a doctor even when arthritis is limiting their usual activities.

To this end, the West Virginia Bureau for Public Health and the Arthritis Foundation, Ohio River Valley Chapter, are collaborating in the development of the West Virginia Arthritis Coalition. This statewide council, which held its first meeting in February 2005, is open to all organizations and individuals that are committed to improving the quality of life for people with arthritis. The coalition will initially focus on three primary areas: (1) public awareness of arthritis, (2) defining the burden of arthritis in the state, and (3) educating primary care practitioners.

This report describes the impact of arthritis in West Virginia and can educate both health care professionals and the public about the disease itself and the profound effects of arthritis upon the state’s residents. As such, this report represents a significant step toward fulfilling each part of the Coalition’s mission.

For further information, contact Germaine Weis with the Bureau for Public Health, Office of Epidemiology and Health Promotion, at (304) 558-0644 or germaineweis@wvdhhr.org.

Note: The data from counties sharing the same rank were combined due to low sample sizes. Aggregated sample sizes were large enough for 24 of the 55 counties to stand alone. The data from the remaining 31 counties were combined into 12 groupings of counties. Each county within a grouping shares the same prevalence.

*Rates are rounded to the nearest tenth; ranks were determined before rounding.

1. Inpatient data from all nonfederal licensed hospitals in the state and Medicare data on West Virginia residents hospitalized in out-of-state hospitals. Up to nine diagnoses (one principal and eight secondary) are recorded.
2. http://www.hcawv.org/DataAndPublic/Data.htm