Arthritis

Arthritis is the leading cause of disability in the United States. Women are more likely than men to get arthritis; between 2003 and 2005, 25.4% of women suffered from it, compared to 17.6% of men.(1)

What percentage of women have arthritis?

Research did not reveal any benchmark for arthritis prevalence, so the states are ranked and not graded on this indicator.

Data Source: Arthritis (%), 2005

EXPLANATION:

This measure includes women age 18 and older in the non-institutionalized civilian population with either doctor- or other health professional-diagnosed arthritis or chronic joint symptoms (arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, gout, lupus, or fibromyalgia).

SOURCE:

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, The Office on Women’s Health Quick Health Data Online, available at http://www.womenshealth.gov/quickhealthdata. The data accessed from the system are from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Survey Data (BRFSS), 2004, available at http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/brfss/index.asp. The overall U.S. and state data as well as data for race/ethnicity are age-adjusted to the 2000 standard population. The national number is the median of all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

  State Overall Data State Grade State Rank
ALABAMA 35.1%   51
ALASKA 26.6%   4
ARIZONA 28.9%   23
ARKANSAS 32.5%   43
CALIFORNIA 26.6%   4
COLORADO 27.3%   8
CONNECTICUT 26.5%   3
DELAWARE 32.5%   43
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 27.3%   8
FLORIDA 27.9%   15
GEORGIA 29.9%   32
HAWAII 22.4%   1
IDAHO 29.0%   25
ILLINOIS 28.1%   18
INDIANA 31.5%   38
IOWA 28.7%   21
KANSAS 28.7%   21
KENTUCKY 32.1%   42
LOUISIANA 27.7%   10
MAINE 31.1%   37
MARYLAND 29.6%   29
MASSACHUSETTS 29.2%   27
MICHIGAN 33.5%   47
MINNESOTA 29.2%   27
MISSISSIPPI 34.0%   49
MISSOURI 33.9%   48
MONTANA 27.7%   10
NEBRASKA 27.7%   10
NEVADA 27.9%   15
NEW HAMPSHIRE 28.9%   23
NEW JERSEY 26.0%   2
NEW MEXICO 26.6%   4
NEW YORK 28.6%   20
NORTH CAROLINA 30.4%   35
NORTH DAKOTA 27.9%   15
OHIO 31.9%   41
OKLAHOMA 32.7%   45
OREGON 30.2%   34
PENNSYLVANIA 31.8%   40
RHODE ISLAND 30.0%   33
SOUTH CAROLINA 32.9%   46
SOUTH DAKOTA 27.8%   14
TENNESSEE 31.6%   39
TEXAS 27.2%   7
UTAH 29.1%   26
VERMONT 27.7%   10
VIRGINIA 30.9%   36
WASHINGTON 29.7%   30
WEST VIRGINIA 34.5%   50
WISCONSIN 29.7%   30
WYOMING 28.1%   18
 
S (Satisfactory): 0  
S- (Satisfactory Minus): 0  
U (Unsatisfactory): 0  
F (Fail): 0  

1 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, MMWR Weekly, "Prevalence of Doctor-Diagnosed Arthritis and Arthritis-Attributable Activity Limitation—United States, 2003-2005," October 2006, available at http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5540a2.htm.