ShareCompartir
Persons using assistive technology might not be able to fully access information in this file. For assistance, please send e-mail to: mmwrq@cdc.gov. Type 508 Accommodation and the title of the report in the subject line of e-mail.
Announcements: National Arthritis Awareness Month --- May 2011
May is National Arthritis Awareness Month. Arthritis affects 50 million U.S. adults (most of whom are aged <65 years) (1), costs $128 billion per year (2), and continues to be the most common cause of disability in the United States (3). By 2030, an estimated 67 million adults (one in four) are expected to be affected by arthritis (4).
This year's theme, "Take Action," is aimed at raising public awareness of underused self-management interventions that can improve arthritis symptoms and quality of life. Physical activity (e.g., walking, biking, or swimming) for 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week, reduces joint pain and stiffness in 4--6 weeks and can be done in increments of as little as 10 minutes at a time (5). Self-management education helps persons gain control of arthritis by learning techniques to reduce pain and activity limitations. Persons who are overweight or obese can reduce symptoms and slow arthritis progression by losing weight. For those with other chronic diseases who also have arthritis (e.g., half of adults with diabetes or heart disease have arthritis), these arthritis interventions might help in managing those other chronic diseases (6,7).
Information about these interventions is available at http://www.cdc.gov/arthritis. Additional information is available from the Arthritis Foundation (http://www.arthritis.org) and the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (http://www.nih.gov/niams).
References
- CDC. Prevalence of doctor-diagnosed arthritis and arthritis-attributable activity limitation---United States, 2007--2009. MMWR 2010;59:1261--5.
- CDC. National and state medical expenditures and lost earnings attributable to arthritis and other rheumatic conditions---United States, 2003. MMWR 2007;56:4--7.
- CDC. Prevalence and most common causes of disability among adults, United States, 2005. MMWR 2009;58:421--6.
- Hootman JM, Helmick CG. Projections of US prevalence of arthritis and associated activity limitations. Arth Rheum 2006;54:226--9.
- US Department of Health and Human Services. Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee report, 2008. Washington, DC: US Department of Health and Human Services; 2008. Available at http://www.health.gov/paguidelines/committeereport.aspx. Accessed April 21, 2011.
- CDC. Arthritis as a potential barrier to physical activity among adults with diabetes---United States, 2005 and 2007. MMWR 2008;57:486--9.
- CDC. Arthritis as a potential barrier to physical activity among adults with heart disease---United States, 2005--2007. MMWR 2009;58:165--9.
Use of trade names and commercial sources is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services.
References to non-CDC sites on the Internet are
provided as a service to MMWR readers and do not constitute or imply
endorsement of these organizations or their programs by CDC or the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services. CDC is not responsible for the content
of pages found at these sites. URL addresses listed in MMWR were current as of
the date of publication.
All MMWR HTML versions of articles are electronic conversions from typeset documents.
This conversion might result in character translation or format errors in the HTML version.
Users are referred to the electronic PDF version (http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr)
and/or the original MMWR paper copy for printable versions of official text, figures, and tables.
An original paper copy of this issue can be obtained from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S.
Government Printing Office (GPO), Washington, DC 20402-9371;
telephone: (202) 512-1800. Contact GPO for current prices.
**Questions or messages regarding errors in formatting should be addressed to
mmwrq@cdc.gov.
