Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Disorders

Introduction
Arthritis refers to the group of diseases that affect joints which have in common the consequence of leading to pain and disability. There are a number of other conditions that affect tissues outside the joints but also lead to pain in the limbs and, or the spine, and collectively they are known as disorders of the musculoskeletal system. There are also a large number of other conditions, many of which are not very common, that can also lead to joint pain and disability but which also affect other organs and tissues in the body. This group of disorders are sometimes called the connective tissue disorders because of the types of tissues in the body they affect. Thus in quantifying the burden of this group of conditions it is appropriate both to consider the level of pain and disability from all these conditions combined as well as from the individual disorders.

Estimates of how many sufferers there are in the UK can be found below:

Notes on data acquisition

  • True population studies are costly and difficult to run. The data presented is the best estimate based on the current studies that are available. Due to the rarity of some diseases (Ankylosing spondylitis, Childhood arthritis) data from outside the UK has been used.
  • The estimates are a guide to the burden of the disease in the UK. The figures given are rounded and have been applied to mid-year estimates of the UK population from 2006
  • Data from the RCGP was used to give estimates of the number of adults (age 15+) consulting their GPs. Annual prevalence is defined from persons registered in the practice at the end of the recording year who have been reported with a specific disease (or group of disease) during the course of a twelve-month period (for 2006)