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Article: Impact of Arthritis and Other Rheumatic Conditions on the Health-Care System -- United States, 1997.(health)
- Article from:
- MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
- Article date:
- May 7, 1999
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1999 U.S. Government Printing Office. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Arthritis and other rheumatic conditions are the leading cause of disability in the United States [1], affecting approximately 43 million persons [2] and costing $65 billion in 1992 [3]. By 2020, these numbers will increase as the population ages [4]. This report examines several measures of the impact of arthritis on the U.S. health-care system; the findings indicate that arthritis and other rheumatic conditions have a large impact on hospitalizations, ambulatory-care visits, and home health care, with women accounting for most of this impact and all persons aged [less than] 65 years accounting for a substantial portion.
The impact on the health-care system was ...