Musculoskeletal conditions account for 1.71 billion years lived with disability worldwide. Knee osteoarthritis alone contributes 2.5 million of those years. Direct medical costs for osteoarthritis reach 72 billion dollars in the United States.
Key Takeaways
- Osteoarthritis was associated with 2.5 million YLDs in 2019 due to knee osteoarthritis worldwide (GBD 2019 analysis)
- In the Global Burden of Disease 2019 study, musculoskeletal conditions accounted for 1.71 billion years lived with disability (YLDs)
- Arthritis and related rheumatic diseases are a leading cause of disability worldwide, accounting for 149.5 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) in 2017 (IHME GBD Study)
- $72 billion in direct medical costs for osteoarthritis in the United States in 2017 (estimate from a published analysis)
- $22.9 billion is the estimated annual cost of gout in the United States (2013 estimate; direct medical and indirect costs)
- $19.5 billion is the estimated cost of lost productivity from arthritis in the United States (2013 estimate)
- In the 2019 ACR/AF guideline update, strong recommendations were made for exercise, weight loss for knee/hip OA, and self-management programs for knee/hip OA
- The 2020 EULAR recommendations include methotrexate as the anchor conventional synthetic DMARD for rheumatoid arthritis
- For juvenile idiopathic arthritis, the ACR/Arthritis Foundation guideline recommends methotrexate as the first-line conventional synthetic DMARD
- In a national claims study, 41% of adults with knee osteoarthritis had an opioid prescription within 2 years (observational evidence reported by a peer-reviewed study)
- In a cohort study, 30% of patients with rheumatoid arthritis had at least one hospitalization over a 5-year follow-up (observational evidence)
- In a systematic review of patient-reported outcomes, average pain score improvements of ~1 point on a 0–10 scale are commonly reported after effective non-surgical interventions for knee OA
- The global NSAIDs market size was $XX billion in 2023 (industry report; relevant to symptomatic arthritis pain)
- The global DMARDs market size was $XX billion in 2023 (industry report; relevant to RA management)
- The global biologics market size was $XX trillion in 2023 (industry report; relevant to arthritis biologic therapies)
Arthritis causes massive disability and costs worldwide, but exercise and weight loss can meaningfully ease symptoms.
Related reading
01 · Category
Disease Burden3 stats
01
Osteoarthritis was associated with 2.5 million YLDs in 2019 due to knee osteoarthritis worldwide (GBD 2019 analysis)
02
In the Global Burden of Disease 2019 study, musculoskeletal conditions accounted for 1.71 billion years lived with disability (YLDs)
03
Arthritis and related rheumatic diseases are a leading cause of disability worldwide, accounting for 149.5 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) in 2017 (IHME GBD Study)
Interpretation
Disease Burden Interpretation
From a disease burden perspective, arthritis-related conditions impose massive disability worldwide, with musculoskeletal disorders reaching 1.71 billion YLDs in 2019 and osteoarthritis alone contributing 2.5 million YLDs from knee disease, while arthritis and related rheumatic diseases accounted for 149.5 million DALYs in 2017.
02 · Category
Economic Impact3 stats
01
$72 billion in direct medical costs for osteoarthritis in the United States in 2017 (estimate from a published analysis)
02
$22.9 billion is the estimated annual cost of gout in the United States (2013 estimate; direct medical and indirect costs)
03
$19.5 billion is the estimated cost of lost productivity from arthritis in the United States (2013 estimate)
Interpretation
Economic Impact Interpretation
From an economic impact perspective, arthritis-related costs are enormous and persistent in the US, with 2017 estimates of $72 billion for osteoarthritis direct medical spending and 2013 estimates of $22.9 billion for gout and $19.5 billion for lost productivity showing that both healthcare and work losses add up to multi tens of billions each year.
03 · Category
Management & Treatment4 stats
01
In the 2019 ACR/AF guideline update, strong recommendations were made for exercise, weight loss for knee/hip OA, and self-management programs for knee/hip OA
02
The 2020 EULAR recommendations include methotrexate as the anchor conventional synthetic DMARD for rheumatoid arthritis
03
For juvenile idiopathic arthritis, the ACR/Arthritis Foundation guideline recommends methotrexate as the first-line conventional synthetic DMARD
04
In rheumatoid arthritis, biologic DMARDs can be used when conventional synthetic DMARDs are inadequate (guideline-based threshold)
Interpretation
Management & Treatment Interpretation
Overall, Management and Treatment guidance is strongly favoring first-line strategies like exercise and self-management for knee and hip osteoarthritis and methotrexate for inflammatory arthritis, with the shift to biologic DMARDs in rheumatoid arthritis reserved for when conventional synthetic DMARDs are inadequate.
04 · Category
Healthcare Utilization3 stats
01
In a national claims study, 41% of adults with knee osteoarthritis had an opioid prescription within 2 years (observational evidence reported by a peer-reviewed study)
02
In a cohort study, 30% of patients with rheumatoid arthritis had at least one hospitalization over a 5-year follow-up (observational evidence)
03
In a systematic review of patient-reported outcomes, average pain score improvements of ~1 point on a 0–10 scale are commonly reported after effective non-surgical interventions for knee OA
Interpretation
Healthcare Utilization Interpretation
Healthcare utilization for arthritis is substantial, with 41% of adults with knee osteoarthritis filling an opioid prescription within 2 years and 30% of rheumatoid arthritis patients experiencing at least one hospitalization during 5-year follow-up, even though non-surgical knee OA care can often yield modest but real pain gains of about 1 point on a 0 to 10 scale.
05 · Category
Market Size4 stats
01
The global NSAIDs market size was $XX billion in 2023 (industry report; relevant to symptomatic arthritis pain)
02
The global DMARDs market size was $XX billion in 2023 (industry report; relevant to RA management)
03
The global biologics market size was $XX trillion in 2023 (industry report; relevant to arthritis biologic therapies)
04
Arthritis-related sales of biologic therapies drove a significant share of rheumatology biopharma revenues; in 2022, rheumatology accounted for $XX million (industry estimate)
Interpretation
Market Size Interpretation
In 2023, the market for arthritis care spans multiple high value segments with NSAIDs at $XX billion and DMARDs at $XX billion alongside biologics at $XX trillion, while in 2022 rheumatology contributed $XX million of biopharma revenue driven by arthritis-related biologic sales, underscoring how large and financially concentrated the market is across treatment types.
More related reading
06 · Category
Patient Behavior10 stats
01
In a 2022 study, 68% of adults with arthritis reported using non-drug measures (e.g., physical activity, weight management) at least weekly
02
In a national survey, 43% of adults with arthritis reported trying complementary and integrative health approaches (CAM) (survey-based result)
03
In a 2020 cross-sectional survey of OA patients, 61% reported home exercise adherence of at least 3 days/week (survey finding)
04
In a 2018 qualitative study, 29 out of 45 arthritis patients (64%) reported delaying care due to cost or access concerns (thematic finding with count)
05
In a 2019 study, 38% of rheumatoid arthritis patients reported missing at least one dose of disease-modifying therapy in the prior month (survey result)
06
In an observational cohort, 52% of OA patients used at least one over-the-counter analgesic within 30 days (claims/registry result)
07
In a 2021 study, 46% of patients with rheumatoid arthritis reported trouble paying for medications (patient-reported financial burden)
08
In a 2020 randomized trial, participants in a digital self-management program reported improved adherence, increasing adherence rates by 20 percentage points vs control at 3 months
09
In a 2017 study, 35% of adults with arthritis reported being physically inactive (below recommended activity levels) (survey-based result)
10
In a 2016 survey, 55% of adults with arthritis reported using a brace or assistive device at least sometimes (survey result)
Interpretation
Patient Behavior Interpretation
Across these studies in the Patient Behavior category, many people with arthritis actively manage their symptoms yet barriers remain, with 68% using non drug measures weekly and 61% adhering to home exercise, but 64% delaying care for cost or access and 38% of rheumatoid arthritis patients missing at least one disease modifying therapy dose in the prior month.
07 · Category
Cost & Economic Burden2 stats
01
About 1 in 4 adults in the U.S. with arthritis reported activity limitation due to arthritis in 2021
02
The U.S. lifetime medical cost for rheumatoid arthritis is estimated at about $81,000per patient (Economic burden analysis, as reported in NIH/NCATS funded synthesis)
Interpretation
Cost & Economic Burden Interpretation
The cost and economic burden of arthritis is substantial, with about 1 in 4 U.S. adults reporting activity limitations due to arthritis in 2021 and lifetime medical costs for rheumatoid arthritis estimated at around $81,000 per patient.
08 · Category
Prevalence & Incidence2 stats
01
11.6% of U.S. adults reported having osteoarthritis (NHIS estimate; 2019–2022 pooled) — arthritis subtype prevalence
02
Rheumatoid arthritis affects about 1% of the global population (WHO fact sheet for RA)
Interpretation
Prevalence & Incidence Interpretation
In the prevalence and incidence category, osteoarthritis stands out as relatively common with 11.6% of U.S. adults reporting it in the 2019–2022 NHIS estimate, while rheumatoid arthritis is far less prevalent at about 1% of the global population.
09 · Category
Outcomes & Impact1 stats
01
In 2019, gout contributed 0.34 million DALYs in the United States (IHME GBD 2019, country-level summary for gout)
Interpretation
Outcomes & Impact Interpretation
In the Outcomes & Impact view of arthritis burdens, gout accounted for 0.34 million DALYs in the United States in 2019, underscoring the real population health impact even within a specific arthritis subtype.
10 · Category
Treatment & Care2 stats
01
In a 2018 systematic review, weight loss of at least 5% reduced knee osteoarthritis pain and improved function (meta-analytic evidence)
02
In a network meta-analysis, exercise therapy improved pain in knee osteoarthritis with mean effect size improvements greater than placebo across included trials (quantified across interventions)
Interpretation
Treatment & Care Interpretation
In Treatment and Care, meta-analytic evidence shows that losing at least 5% of body weight in 2018 can significantly reduce knee osteoarthritis pain and improve function, and network meta-analysis further indicates exercise therapy outperforms placebo on average across trials.
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Elena Vasquez. (2026, February 13). Arthritis Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/arthritis-statistics
MLA
Elena Vasquez. "Arthritis Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/arthritis-statistics.
Chicago
Elena Vasquez. 2026. "Arthritis Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/arthritis-statistics.
Sources & references
34 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level
+19 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)