Descriptive epidemiology of osteoarthritis in British Columbia, Canada

OBJECTIVE: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a highly prevalent and often disabling disease. Data on the incidence of OA in the general population are limited. Our objectives were (1) to estimate OA prevalence and incidence rates by age and sex in a geographically defined population of 4 million people [Britis...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of rheumatology 2007-02, Vol.34 (2), p.386-393
Main Authors: KOPEC, Jacek A, MUSHFIQUR RAHMAN, M, BERTHELOT, Jean-Marie, LE PETIT, Christel, AGHAJANIAN, Jaafar, SAYRE, Eric C, CIBERE, Jolanda, ANIS, Aslam H, BADLEY, Elizabeth M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Biological and medical sciences
British Columbia - epidemiology
Child
Databases, Factual
Diseases of the osteoarticular system
Female
Humans
Male
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Miscellaneous. Osteoarticular involvement in other diseases
Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis - classification
Osteoarthritis - diagnosis
Osteoarthritis - epidemiology
Prevalence
Sensitivity and Specificity
Sex Distribution
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Summary:OBJECTIVE: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a highly prevalent and often disabling disease. Data on the incidence of OA in the general population are limited. Our objectives were (1) to estimate OA prevalence and incidence rates by age and sex in a geographically defined population of 4 million people [British Columbia (BC), Canada] using an administrative database; and (2) to determine the effects of different administrative definitions of OA and observation (run-in) time on such estimates. METHODS: We used data on all visits to health professionals and hospital admissions covered by the Medical Services Plan (MSP) of BC for the fiscal years 1991-92 through 2000-01. OA was defined based on International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision, diagnostic codes required for administrative purposes. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of OA in 2001 was 10.8%: 8.9% in men and 12.6% in women. Prevalence was higher in women in all age groups. By age 70-74 years, about one-third of men and 40% of women had OA. Incidence rates in 2000-01 were 11.7 per 1000 person-years in the total population, 10.0 in men and 13.4 in women. Rates increased linearly with age between 50 and 80 years. Both prevalence and incidence depended strongly on the definition of OA and the run-in period. CONCLUSION: Prevalence of physician-diagnosed OA in BC was slightly lower than self-reported prevalence of arthritis in population surveys. Routinely collected administrative data could be a valuable source of information for OA surveillance, but more research is needed on the validity of OA diagnosis in administrative databases.
ISSN:0315-162X
1499-2752