One in six has arthritis, osteoporosis
Reported December 17, 2008
About 3.3 million people have arthritis including more than 2000, mostly female, children.
The disease affects more than one third of people aged over 65 and more than half of those aged 85 or over, according to a report from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
Osteoarthritis, the most common form of arthritis, affects more than 1.3 million people, or more than six per cent of the population.
Up to one-third of people aged over 85 suffer from the disease and it is one of the top 10 problems managed by general practitioners.
Almost 2.7 million taxpayer-funded GP consultations in the last financial year included osteoarthritis management.
Rheumatoid arthritis, which is nearly twice as common in women as in men, affects about 400,000 people.
Because osteoporosis usually has no symptoms, the number of Australians diagnosed with the disease – almost 600,000, mostly women aged over 55 – is likely to represent only a small portion of the true number of people with the condition.
It is mostly preventable through regular exercise with weights and a balanced diet containing calcium-rich foods and sufficient vitamin D.