
Specific Populations
Arthritis and Aboriginal Peoples
- 19% of all Aboriginal
people living off-reserve report having arthritis. If the
Aboriginal population had the same age composition as the overall
Canadian population, this rate would be 27%.i
Data were not available for Aboriginals living on reserves,
but other studies have found an even higher prevalence
in this population.
- Aboriginal people living off-reserve who have arthritis are
significantly more likely to report activity
limitations than non-Aboriginal Canadians with arthritis.ii
Arthritis in Ontario
Ontario Prevalence & Profile
- In 2005 arthritis
and related conditions affected over 1.8 million Ontarians
aged 15 years and older (18% of the population).iii
- By 2026, it’s estimated that 2.8 million Ontarians aged
15 years and older will have arthritis or related conditions.
iv
- The prevalence
of arthritis is generally higher in northern Ontario, though
there are also areas of high prevalence in southern Ontario.v
- In Ontario, people of Asian ethnicity are less likely to report
arthritis compared to Caucasians, whereas North American Aboriginals
living off-reserve are twice as likely to report arthritis.vi
Data were not available for Aboriginals living on reserve, but
other studies have found an even higher prevalence in this population.
- In Ontario, 40% of people with arthritis require help with
daily activities, compared to 13% of people with other chronic
conditions.vii
Ontario Use of Health Services
- 2.8 million visits were made to a physician for arthritis
and related conditions in Ontario in 2000-2001.viii
- Ontario orthopaedic
surgeons spent only 35% of their time dedicated to surgery,
while in the U.S., the recommended dedication of time is 62%.ix
- Treatment with disease-modifying
anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDS) is recommended as soon as
rheumatoid
arthritis is diagnosed. In contrast, the proportion of people
receiving DMARDS is much less than the estimated number of people
with rheumatoid arthritis in Ontario.x
- Wait times in Ontario for total hip replacement and total
knee replacement increased between 1993-1994 and 2001-2002 with
a median wait of 29 weeks for primary total knee replacement
and 20 weeks for primary total hip replacement.xi
- For every 175 people who self-report arthritis:
- 137 see a doctor
- 44 see a specialist
- 4 go to the hospital
- 2 receive arthroscopic
surgery
- 1 receives a total joint replacement
xii
- As of 2000, 158 physicians in Ontario were identified as having
received rheumatology training and having a practice of rheumatology
care.xiii
- In 2000, Ontarians with non-urgent arthritis waited an average
of 10 weeks for an initial rheumatology consultation. Patients
with inflammatory
arthritis waited less than 4 weeks.xiv
Characteristics of Canadians with Arthritis
- Canadians with arthritis are more likely to:
- be widowed/separated/divorced than Canadians without arthritis;xv
- have a lower level of formal education than Canadians
without arthritis;xvi
- have a lower income than Canadians without arthritis;xvii
- be overweight than Canadians without arthritis.xviii
- Canadians with arthritis report significantly higher rates
of having sleeping problems “most of the time” compared
to Canadians with another or no chronic
condition.xix
- Canadians with arthritis report significantly higher rates
of clinical depression compared to Canadians with another or
no chronic condition.xx
- The proportion of Canadians with arthritis who are not in
the labour force is significantly higher than the proportion
of those with another or no chronic condition.xxi
Women and Arthritis
General Facts
- Two thirds of Canadians with arthritis are women.xxii
- Next to non-food allergies, arthritis is the second most common
chronic condition
reported by Canadian women.xxiii
- Mortality
rates attributed to arthritis are higher in women than men for
every age group, with 4 female deaths for every 3 male deaths.
xxiv
- Osteoarthritis
affects nearly two times more women than men, and rheumatoid
arthritis affects approximately 2.5 times more women than
men.xxv
- In 1998-1999 50% of Canadian women with arthritis reported
using some treatment for arthritis, slightly higher than 46%
of men who had done so.xxvi
- The higher prevalence
of arthritis among Canadian women is only partially reflected
in the rates of hip and knee replacement procedures; the slightly
higher rate of hip and knee replacement procedures among women
does not wholly reflect their greater need.xxvii
Disability and Activity Limitations
- Canadian women report a slightly higher prevalence
of disability
than men in all age groups except for those under 15 years of
age.xxviii
- In 1998-1999 approximately 50% of Canadian women with arthritis
reported long term disability, compared to 20% of women with
other chronic
conditions, and 5% of women with no chronic conditions.xxix
- In 1998-1999 45% of Canadian women with arthritis reported
pain that prevented them from some activities, and 21% reported
pain that prevented them from participating in all or most activities.xxx
- In 1998-1999 43% of Canadian women with arthritis reported
that they were dependent upon others to assist them with one
or more activities of daily living (personal care, household
chores, shopping etc.). Only 30% of men with arthritis reported
dependency in this area. 3% of women with no chronic
conditions reported a need for assistancexxxi
- Arthritis
in Canada. September 2003. Chapter 2, p. 25
- Ibid., p. 28, Figure 2-32
- Current ACREU Work
- Arthritis
and Related Conditions in Ontario: ICES Research Atlas,
2nd edition. September 2004. Chapter 2, p. 18, Figure
2.4
- Ibid., p. 21, Figure 2.9
- Ibid., p. 22, Figure 2.10
- Ibid., p. 24, Figure 2.13
- Ibid., Chapter 4, p. 68
- Ibid., Key findings & policy options, p. xviii
- Ibid., Chapter 5, p. 88
- Ibid., Key findings & policy options, p. xviii
- Ibid., Chapter 1, p. 5, Figure 1.2
- Ibid., Chapter 3, p.44, Figure 3.1
- Ibid.
- Arthritis
in Canada. September 2003. Chapter 2, p. 12, Table
2-2
- Ibid., p. 12, Figure 2-6
- Ibid., p. 12, Figure 2-7
- Ibid., p. 13, Figure 2-8
- Ibid., p. 18, Figure 2-17
- Ibid., p. 19, Figure 2-19
- Ibid., p. 20, Figure 2-20
- Ibid., Chapter 2, p. 8
- Ibid.
- Ibid., Chapter 3, p. 36, Figure 3-1
- Kasman NM, Badley EM. The Impact of Arthritis on
the Women of Canada. In Women’s Health Surveillance
Report. A multidimensional look at the health of the Canadian
Women. Toronto: Canadian Institute for Health Information;
2003. p. 1
- Ibid., p. 4
- Arthritis
in Canada. September 2003. Chapter 6, p. 91
- Participation and Activity Limitation Survey 2001,
Statistics Canada, Chart
1
- Kasman NM, Badley EM. The Impact of Arthritis on
the Women of Canada. In Women’s Health Surveillance
Report. A multidimensional look at the health of the Canadian
Women. Toronto: Canadian Institute for Health Information;
2003. p. 3
- Ibid.
- Ibid.