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Review
. 2021 Oct 22;9(11):1421.
doi: 10.3390/healthcare9111421.

Disparities across Diverse Populations in the Health and Treatment of Patients with Osteoarthritis

Warachal E Faison  1 , P Grace Harrell  2 , David Semel  1
Affiliations
Review

Disparities across Diverse Populations in the Health and Treatment of Patients with Osteoarthritis

Warachal E Faison et al. Healthcare (Basel). .

Abstract

The study of disparities across diverse populations regarding the health and treatment of patients with osteoarthritis (OA) is recognized as a priority for investigation and action by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) and the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS). OA is a common condition that increases with age, but with prevalence generally similar across racial and ethnic groups. However, disparities in the treatment of OA among racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups are well-documented and continue to rise and persist. The reasons are complex, likely involving a combination of patient, provider, and healthcare system factors. Treatment disparities among these different populations have an impact on clinical outcomes, healthcare, and productivity, and are projected to increase significantly with the growing diversity of the United States population. The aim of this short review is to summarize studies of racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic disparities among patients with OA in the United States, with a focus on prevalence, treatment utilization, and clinical and economic outcomes.

Keywords: clinical outcomes; disparities; economic outcomes; ethnic; osteoarthritis; prevalence; racial; treatment utilization.

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Conflict of interest statement

Warachal Faison and David Semel are employees of Pfizer with stock and/or stock options. P. Grace Harrell was a paid consultant to Pfizer for this study and development of this manuscript.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Prevalence of arthritis by race/ethnicity. Adapted from [2]. White, Black, Asian, Multiracial, and American Indian/Alaskan Native are non-Hispanic. Unweighted sample sizes are shown in parentheses. Abbreviations: AI/AN, American Indian/Alaskan Native.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Prevalence of knee OA by race/ethnicity and age. Adapted from [19]. Data collapsed across males/females, with percentages recalculated. Data for 25–44 years are not shown as prevalence was generally consistent across groups and ranged from 1% (advanced symptomatic) to 2% (symptomatic). White, Black, Other are non-Hispanic. * American Indians/Pacific Islanders/Alaskan and Asian Americans.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Prevalence of arthritis in rural versus urban communities. Adapted from [23]. Solid bars, rural; hatched bars, urban. White, Black, Asian, Multiracial, and American Indian/Alaskan are non-Hispanic. Rural refers to a noncore area; urban refers to large central metropolitan city. Abbreviations: AI/AN, American Indian/Alaskan Native.
Figure 4
Figure 4
2008 Treatment utilization: Total joint arthroplasty. Adapted from [29].
Figure 5
Figure 5
QALYs gained from TKA utilization per 100 patients. Adapted from [68]; Abbreviations: TKA, total knee arthroplasty.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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