Prevalence and Trends of Rheumatic Diseases in the US Workforce

OBJECTIVE: Many of the risk factors for arthritis are poorly understood. Whether arthritis stems from one's occupation or socio-behavioral risk factors, it increases the risk of job loss. We examined the prevalence and trends of physician-diagnosed arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, gout, lupus, and fibromyalgia by occupation, the new National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) industrial sectors, and employment status.

METHODS: Data from the 2004-2008 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), a nationally representative sample of US adults (n=131,091) were analyzed.

RESULTS: Overall prevalence of arthritis was 21.7±0.2%; the prevalence was 14.2±0.2% for employed adults and varied by occupation (2-fold variation in computer/mathematical occupations [11.2±1.1%] compared to healthcare support occupations [17.5±1.0%]). Among the employed adults, arthritis was highest in workers >75 years old (38.6 ± 2.3%), female (16.3 ± 0.2%), non-Hispanic whites (16.5 ± 0.2%), widowed, divorced or separated (21.6 ± 0.4%), obese (16.1 ± 0.2%), and with at least a high school diploma (15.2 ± 0.3%). Rates of specific arthritis conditions (i.e. arthritis (19.3±0.2%), rheumatoid arthritis (2.3±0.1%), gout (1.4±0.1%), lupus (0.3±0.1%), and fibromyalgia (1.2±0.1%)) also varied by occupation.

CONCLUSIONS: We found considerable variation in the prevalence of all major forms of arthritis in the US adult workforce. Most adults spend half of their waking hours at work, making the workplace an excellent setting for promoting health. Occupational surveillance for arthritic conditions may support tailored workplace educational and health promotion programs as well as workplace accommodations to improve the quality of the workplace environment.