Prevalence, Incidence, and Epidemic Trends of Osteoarthritis Among Adults in Beijing, China, From 2008 to 2017

Abstract Objective To estimate the prevalence, incidence, and epidemic trend of diagnosed osteoarthritis from 2008 to 2017 in Beijing, China. Methods This was a retrospective serial cross-sectional study. We used health-insurance claims of 17.7 million adults for 2008–2017 to identify people over 18 years-old with osteoarthritis. The population data for Beijing from China’s 6th national census were applied to standardize the results. Trends in prevalence and incidence were analyzed using joinpoint regression. Results We identified 2,793,467 people with osteoarthritis between 2008 and 2017, 60% of which were women. The 10-year average age-standardized prevalence and incidence of osteoarthritis in Beijing was, respectively, 5.2% and 28.5 per 1000 person-years. Prevalence increased with age, surging after 55 years-old. The average crude prevalence for this decade was 14.9% for people over 55 years-old: 10.7% for males and 20.4% for females. The prevalence showed an increasing trend from 2008 to 2017, including a period of rapid rise, with an annual percentage change of 44.3% from 2008 to 2011 (P༜0.05); the increase in prevalence was greatest in people under 35 years-old, with the an average annual percentage change of 36.1% (P < 0.05). Conclusion We observed that the average age-standardized prevalence of diagnosed osteoarthritis in Beijing per decade was at a low-to-medium level compared to worldwide levels. Annual prevalence increased significantly from 2008 to 2017, with osteoarthritis being diagnosed at younger ages. More public health efforts are needed to prevent osteoarthritis in China.