Arthritis in its many manifestations is among the most common chronic conditions, affecting some 53 million adult Americans, and its associated pain often impairs the ability to perform daily activities including work.The Healthy People 2030 initiative set a goal of reducing the prevalence of joint pain in the U.S. to about 52%.In this analysis of National Health Interview Survey data from 2023, moderate to severe joint pain was reported by 58% of those with arthritis, with no change from 2019 (57%) after adjusting for age distribution.
Federal survey data for 2023 showed an estimated prevalence of moderate to severe joint pain among U.S. adults of 58.5%, suggesting that pain management in arthritis has a long way to go.
Among the participants saying they had been diagnosed with arthritis, 26.1% reported severe joint pain and another 32.4% said they had moderate pain. Adjustment for respondents' ages altered the combined estimate for moderate-to-severe pain only a little, to 58.2%, according to researchers led by Elizabeth Fallon, PhD, DrPH, of the CDC in Atlanta, using results from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), with some 30,000 respondents in each iteration.
Adding in respondents who reported only mild joint pain, the total prevalence of joint pain from arthritis was 75.8%, translating to 40 million American adults, the group reported in Arthritis Care & Research.
