In 2005, 35% of West Virginia adults reported that they had been diagnosed with arthritis. This rate was highest in the U.S. Thirty-one percent of men and 38% 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.
In 2003, West Virginia adults with arthritis were significantly more likely than those without arthritis to be obese and physically inactive.
People with arthritis in West Virginia are 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.
The National Osteoporosis Foundation estimated that if no action is taken, by the year of 2020 a total of 311,600 women and 154,700 men in West Virginia will have osteoporosis or low bone mass.
|
Prevalence (%) of Arthritis and Other Rheumatic Conditions by County
WVBRFSS 1999, 2001, 2003
|
|
County
|
%
|
Rank*
|
County
|
%
|
Rank*
|
|
Barbour
|
36.4
|
12
|
Pendleton
|
28.0
|
31
|
|
Berkeley
|
27.4
|
33
|
Pleasants
|
36.0
|
15
|
|
Boone
|
37.7
|
8
|
Pocahontas
|
28.0
|
31
|
|
Braxton
|
32.1
|
25
|
Preston
|
38.6
|
7
|
|
Brooke
|
30.0
|
28
|
Putnam
|
24.6
|
35
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cabell
|
37.1
|
9
|
Raleigh
|
36.9
|
10
|
|
Calhoun
|
36.4
|
13
|
Randolph
|
31.4
|
26
|
|
Clay
|
36.4
|
13
|
Ritchie
|
39.9
|
4
|
|
Doddridge
|
39.9
|
4
|
Roane
|
36.4
|
13
|
|
Fayette
|
35.3
|
17
|
Summers
|
38.7
|
6
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gilmer
|
36.4
|
13
|
Taylor
|
36.4
|
12
|
|
Grant
|
34.3
|
19
|
Tucker
|
38.6
|
7
|
|
Greenbrier
|
38.7
|
6
|
Tyler
|
36.0
|
15
|
|
Hampshire
|
30.2
|
27
|
Upshur
|
33.0
|
23
|
|
Hancock
|
26.1
|
34
|
Wayne
|
33.3
|
22
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Hardy
|
28.0
|
31
|
Webster
|
32.1
|
25
|
|
Harrison
|
34.2
|
20
|
Wetzel
|
36.0
|
15
|
|
Jackson
|
36.4
|
14
|
Wirt
|
36.4
|
14
|
|
Jefferson
|
28.5
|
30
|
Wood
|
35.0
|
18
|
|
Kanawha
|
27.9
|
32
|
Wyoming
|
36.4
|
11
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Lewis
|
39.9
|
4
|
Total WV
|
33.5
|
|
|
Lincoln
|
37.7
|
8
|
Total US
|
23.0
|
|
|
Logan
|
40.7
|
3
|
|
|
|
|
McDowell
|
48.1
|
1
|
|
|
|
|
Marion
|
33.5
|
21
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Marshall
|
29.0
|
29
|
|
|
|
|
Mason
|
38.9
|
5
|
|
|
|
|
Mercer
|
35.7
|
16
|
|
|
|
|
Mineral
|
34.3
|
19
|
|
|
|
|
Mingo
|
43.6
|
2
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Monongalia
|
18.7
|
36
|
|
|
|
|
Monroe
|
38.7
|
6
|
|
|
|
|
Morgan
|
30.2
|
27
|
|
|
|
|
Nicholas
|
32.1
|
25
|
|
|
|
|
Ohio
|
32.4
|
24
|
|
|
|
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.