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The burden of osteoarthritis: the societal and the patient perspective

Till Uhlig, Barbara Slatkowsky-Christensen, Rikke Helene Moe and Tore Kristian Kvien

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a highly prevalent disease affecting mainly knees, hips and hands. It has potentially devastating effects on health-related quality of life and will represent an increasing economic burden in the future. Moreover, pain and physical disability brought about by OA also affect social functioning and mental health, further diminishing the patient’s quality of life. The burden of OA is therefore considerable, both from a societal and individual patient perspective. OA is a multifactorial disease with age being the major risk factor. As a consequence of aging populations in western and developing countries, OA will contribute to an increase of health-related burden for individuals as well as for the society. Both pharmacological and nonpharmacological treatment modalities are important, but the choice of therapy in individual patients must take into account evidence for effectiveness and individual factors.