Arthritis is a broad group of conditions, and its measured scale depends on the definition used. The figures below distinguish global musculoskeletal estimates from arthritis-specific measures and separate survey-reported diagnoses from subtype estimates, disability associations, historical costs and forecasts.
Key Arthritis Statistics
The most broadly useful figures include:
- About 528 million people worldwide had osteoarthritis in 2019, according to the Global Burden of Disease estimate.
- About 18 million people worldwide had rheumatoid arthritis in 2019, according to the Global Burden of Disease estimate.
- About 54 million people worldwide had gout in 2019, according to the Global Burden of Disease estimate.
- Musculoskeletal conditions affected about 1.71 billion people worldwide in 2019, a broader category than arthritis.
- Musculoskeletal conditions caused about 149 million years lived with disability worldwide in 2019, across the broader condition group.
- Diagnosed arthritis affected 18.9% of U.S. adults age 18 and older in 2022, using an age-adjusted survey estimate.
- Diagnosed arthritis affected 53.9% of U.S. adults age 75 and older in 2022, using an age-specific survey estimate.
- About 53.2 million U.S. adults had diagnosed arthritis during 2019–2021, based on a combined national survey estimate.
- Women had a 21.5% diagnosed-arthritis prevalence in the United States in 2022, compared with 16.1% for men.
- Adults age 65 and older represented 48.3% of U.S. adults with arthritis during 2019–2021, or about 25.7 million people.
- Osteoarthritis represented 49.6% of U.S. adults age 20 and older with diagnosed arthritis in 2017–March 2020, or about 33.2 million people.
- Rheumatoid arthritis represented 15.8% of U.S. adults age 20 and older with diagnosed arthritis in 2017–March 2020, or about 10.6 million people.
- Age-standardized rheumatoid arthritis prevalence was 4.1% among U.S. adults age 20 and older in 2017–March 2020.
- Age-standardized arthritis prevalence was 40.5% among U.S. adults with a disability during 2019–2021, compared with 16.6% among adults without a disability.
- Nearly 43.9% of U.S. adults with arthritis reported everyday activity limitations, in the national evidence summarized for 2017–March 2020.
- Arthritis was estimated to cost the United States $303.5 billion in 2013, combining medical care and lost earnings.
- The U.S. adult arthritis population was projected to reach 78.4 million by 2040, based on an analysis using 2010–2012 NHIS data.
Contents
- Arthritis statistics worldwide: prevalence and disability burden
- U.S. arthritis prevalence by age and sex
- Arthritis data by race, income, education and place
- Osteoarthritis, rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis statistics
- Arthritis, disability and chronic conditions
- Arthritis pain, activity limits, costs and trends
Arthritis Statistics Worldwide: Prevalence and Disability Burden
The World Health Organization’s musculoskeletal-health summary reports a 2019 Global Burden of Disease estimate of about 1.71 billion people living with musculoskeletal conditions worldwide. This is a wider category than arthritis and includes back and neck pain, fractures, injuries and other conditions.
The same broad category accounted for about 149 million years lived with disability (YLDs), or about 17% of all YLDs globally in 2019. Because these totals cover musculoskeletal conditions generally, they should not be presented as total arthritis prevalence.
| 2019 global estimate | People affected | Disability burden |
|---|---|---|
| Musculoskeletal conditions | 1.71 billion | 149 million YLDs |
| Osteoarthritis | 528 million | 19 million YLDs |
| Rheumatoid arthritis | 18 million | 2.4 million YLDs |
| Gout | 54 million | 1.7 million YLDs |
Source: WHO, “Musculoskeletal health”. The condition rows use different scopes: osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and gout are specific conditions, while the first row is the complete musculoskeletal grouping.
Regional figures also describe the broader musculoskeletal category. In 2019, high-income countries had about 441 million people living with these conditions, while the WHO Western Pacific Region had about 427 million and the WHO South-East Asia Region had about 369 million.
The WHO’s rheumatoid-arthritis summary estimated that about 13 million people with rheumatoid arthritis had moderate or severe disease levels that could benefit from rehabilitation in 2019. That is an estimate of potential rehabilitation need, not the number who received rehabilitation.
Source: WHO, “Rheumatoid arthritis”.
U.S. Arthritis Prevalence by Age and Sex
The CDC’s National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) estimated age-adjusted diagnosed-arthritis prevalence at 18.9% among U.S. adults age 18 and older in 2022. The measure is self-reported: respondents were counted if a doctor or other health professional had ever told them they had arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, gout, lupus or fibromyalgia.
Sex and age show substantial differences in the 2022 estimate:
| U.S. population | Diagnosed arthritis prevalence | Period and measure |
|---|---|---|
| Adult women | 21.5% | 2022, age-adjusted |
| Adult men | 16.1% | 2022, age-adjusted |
| Ages 18–34 | 3.6% | 2022, age-specific |
| Age 75+ | 53.9% | 2022, age-specific |
Source: CDC, “Arthritis in Adults Age 18 and Older: United States, 2022”. The age-specific percentages are not age adjusted, so they should not be treated as interchangeable with the overall age-adjusted estimate.
A separate CDC analysis covering 2019–2021 estimated that about 53.2 million U.S. adults had diagnosed arthritis. The corresponding reported prevalence was 21.2%, or 18.7% after age standardization; those percentages use different adjustment conventions.
Among adults with diagnosed arthritis during 2019–2021, adults age 45 and older represented 88.3%. Adults age 65 and older represented 48.3%, or about 25.7 million people, while adults ages 45–64 represented 40.0%, or about 21.3 million people.
Source: CDC, “Prevalence of Diagnosed Arthritis — United States, 2019–2021”. These shares describe the arthritis population, not age-specific prevalence within each age group.
Arthritis Data by Race, Income, Education and Place
The CDC’s 2022 NHIS results show that diagnosed arthritis varied across selected demographic and geographic groups. These are age-adjusted estimates, except where the source’s definition or grouping is otherwise noted.
| U.S. adult group | Diagnosed arthritis prevalence | Measurement |
|---|---|---|
| Non-Hispanic White | 20.7% | 2022, age-adjusted |
| Asian | 11.3% | 2022, age-adjusted |
| Family income below 100% FPL | 24.7% | 2022, age-adjusted |
| Family income 400% FPL or higher | 16.6% | 2022, age-adjusted |
| College graduates | 15.3% | 2022, age-adjusted |
| High school education or less | 20.0% | 2022, age-adjusted |
| Large central metropolitan areas | 16.1% | 2022, age-adjusted |
| Nonmetropolitan areas | 23.5% | 2022, age-adjusted |
| Midwest | 20.0% | 2022, age-adjusted |
Source: CDC, “Arthritis in Adults Age 18 and Older: United States, 2022”.
The income categories were based on prior-year family income, with missing values imputed where necessary. The figures describe associations in a survey population; they do not establish that income, education or place caused the differences.
Osteoarthritis, Rheumatoid and Psoriatic Arthritis Statistics
A 2017–March 2020 NHANES analysis examined U.S. adults age 20 and older who reported diagnosed arthritis. The subtype percentages below use that diagnosed-arthritis group as the denominator, not the entire adult population.
| Reported category among adults with diagnosed arthritis | Share | Approximate number |
|---|---|---|
| Osteoarthritis | 49.6% | 33.2 million |
| Rheumatoid arthritis | 15.8% | 10.6 million |
| Psoriatic arthritis | 1.4% | 1.0 million |
| Another unlisted arthritis type | 11.5% | 7.7 million |
| Did not know subtype | 21.6% | 14.4 million |
Source: CDC Preventing Chronic Disease, “Distribution of Arthritis Subtypes Among Adults With Arthritis in the United States, 2017–March 2020”. “Another unlisted” is not one disease subtype, and “did not know subtype” is a response category rather than a diagnosis.
The same analysis estimated age-standardized prevalence among all U.S. adults age 20 and older at 24.9% for any diagnosed arthritis, 12.0% for osteoarthritis, 4.1% for rheumatoid arthritis and about 0.3% for psoriatic arthritis during 2017–March 2020.
Subtype shares also differed by age within the diagnosed-arthritis population. Rheumatoid arthritis accounted for 21.1% among adults ages 20–44 versus 11.9% among those ages 65–74, while psoriatic arthritis accounted for 2.1% at ages 20–44 versus 0.2% at age 75 and older.
These NHANES estimates should not be combined into a single time series with the 2022 NHIS estimate: the surveys, age ranges, periods and subtype questions differ.
Arthritis, Disability and Chronic Conditions
During 2019–2021, unadjusted arthritis prevalence was 54.8%, or 12.3 million people, among U.S. adults reporting a disability. After age standardization, prevalence was 40.5% among adults with a disability and 16.6% among adults without a disability.
The same CDC analysis reported these age-standardized arthritis prevalences among adults with selected chronic conditions:
- 43.5% among adults with COPD.
- 36.3% among adults with heart disease.
- 28.8% among adults with diabetes.
- 27.7% among adults with cancer.
Among U.S. adults age 65 and older with selected conditions, diagnosed arthritis co-occurred with COPD in 62.4%, stroke in 57.9%, heart disease in 57.4%, obesity in 56.8%, diabetes in 54.0% and cancer in 52.2% during 2019–2021.
Source: CDC, “Prevalence of Diagnosed Arthritis — United States, 2019–2021”. These are associations and co-occurrence estimates, not causal effects; obesity used self-reported height and weight in the cited analysis.
Arthritis Pain, Activity Limits, Costs and Trends
Arthritis prevalence describes diagnosis, not necessarily day-to-day impact. In the national evidence summarized by the 2017–March 2020 subtype article, nearly 43.9% of U.S. adults with arthritis reported everyday activity limitations because of arthritis; activity limitation is not equivalent to pain severity.
The same source reported a historical estimate of $303.5 billion in U.S. medical-care costs and lost earnings in 2013. This is not current spending and combines two cost categories.
An analysis using 2010–2012 NHIS data projected that the U.S. adult arthritis population would reach 78.4 million by 2040. It is a forecast based on older baseline data and assumptions, not an observed count or a guarantee of future prevalence.
For the oldest adults, a separate NCHS chronic-conditions report referenced by the 2022 CDC source estimated arthritis prevalence during 2022–2023 at 63.2% among U.S. women age 85 and older and 44.2% among U.S. men age 85 and older. These figures apply only to the age-85-and-older population and should not be substituted for the all-adult 2022 estimate.
Source: CDC, “Arthritis in Adults Age 18 and Older: United States, 2022” and CDC Preventing Chronic Disease, “Distribution of Arthritis Subtypes Among Adults With Arthritis in the United States, 2017–March 2020”.