Session Information
Date: Monday, October 22, 2018
Session Type: ACR Poster Session B
Session Time: 9:00AM-11:00AM
Background/Purpose: Arthritis and chronic joint symptoms (CJS) are a leading cause of disability among adults in the United States. For some forms of arthritis, early diagnosis and aggressive treatment are essential to limit permanent joint damage and disability, especially in relatively younger population. Approximately 10.3 million adults (21.7% of adults with CJS) never had seen a health-care provider for their joint symptoms in 2001.
Methods: Data were extracted from the population-based National Health Interview Survey 2015. Never Seen a Health-Care Provider for Chronic Joint Symptoms was defined as negative answer to the question: ¡°Have you EVER seen a doctor or other health professional for these joint symptoms?¡±. Respondents were classified as having CJS if they fit two criteria 1) had any symptoms of pain, aching, or stiffness in or around any joint except for back or neck; 2) the duration of joint symptoms exceed 3 months. Adults aged 18 to 64 years were included. SAS was used to calculate estimations with weighted analyses. Logistic regression was used to produce odds ratios for a full model that adjusted for all variables.
Results: 50 million non-elderly adults (25.5%) were identified with chronic joint symptoms in NHIS 2015. Approximately 12.5 million (27.3%) of them have never seen doctors or other health professionals for their chronic joint symptoms. Never seen doctors or other health professionals for CJS were associated with Male (p=0.02), Hispanic ethnicity (p=0.06), No insurance (p<0.001), No primary care provider (p<0.001), and better general physical health (p<0.001). Patients with ¡°Other Coverage¡± (Disability-related Medicare and Military Care) (p<0.001), higher age (p<0.001) were significantly more likely to see healthcare professional for their chronic joint pains.
Conclusion: After 14 years, there is still a significantly proportion of non-elderly adults who have never seen a health-care provider for their chronic joint symptoms. It calls for further efforts in patient education and health policy. A large group of underserved patients might benefit from intervention and their potential disabilities from arthritis might be prevented.
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Table1. Estimated Prevalence of Non-Elderly Adults (Aged 18-64 Years) With Chronic Joint Symptoms (CJS) Who Have Never Seen A Health-Care Provider For CJS, By Selected Characteristics- National Health Interview Survey 2015 |
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|
|
Prevalence of Never Seen a Health-Care Provider for CJS |
Odds of Never Seen a Health-Care Provider for CJS |
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|
N |
% |
(95% CI) |
Odds Ratio |
(95% CI) |
||||||
|
Age |
||||||||||
|
18-24 |
1250611 |
9.0 |
(7.0 – 11.0) |
1.00 |
||||||
|
25-44 |
5673762 |
40.7 |
(37.7 – 43.7) |
0.83 |
(0.56 – 1.23) |
|||||
|
45-64 |
7005869 |
50.3 |
(47.3 – 53.3) |
0.57 |
(0.39 – 0.84) |
|||||
|
Gender |
||||||||||
|
Male |
7627579 |
54.8 |
(51.8 – 57.7) |
1.32 |
(1.11 – 1.56) |
|||||
|
Female |
6302663 |
45.2 |
(42.3 – 48.2) |
1.00 |
||||||
|
Race |
||||||||||
|
Non-Hispanic white |
9526760 |
68.4 |
(65.6 – 71.2) |
1.00 |
||||||
|
Non-Hispanic black |
1390646 |
10.0 |
(8.5 – 11.5) |
0.82 |
(0.65 – 1.05) |
|||||
|
Hispanic |
2227306 |
16.0 |
(13.9 – 18.1) |
1.29 |
(1.03 – 1.61) |
|||||
|
Asian |
586086 |
4.2 |
(3.1 – 5.3) |
1.20 |
(0.82 – 1.75) |
|||||
|
Other |
199444 |
1.4 |
(0.6 – 2.3) |
0.84 |
(0.33 – 2.11) |
|||||
|
Education level |
||||||||||
|
Less than high school |
2197285 |
15.8 |
(13.9 – 17.8) |
1.00 |
||||||
|
High school graduate |
3023951 |
21.8 |
(19.5 – 24.1) |
1.03 |
(0.77 – 1.37) |
|||||
|
Some College or above |
8654813 |
62.4 |
(59.8 – 64.9) |
0.84 |
(0.65 – 1.08) |
|||||
|
Household Income |
||||||||||
|
$0 – $34,999 |
3983834 |
30.3 |
(27.6 – 33.0) |
1.00 |
||||||
|
$35,000 – $74,999 |
3788164 |
28.8 |
(26.2 – 31.5) |
0.93 |
(0.74 – 1.16) |
|||||
|
$75,000 – $99,999 |
1719907 |
13.1 |
(10.9 – 15.3) |
0.94 |
(0.72 – 1.23) |
|||||
|
$100,000 and over |
3651749 |
27.8 |
(24.5 – 31.0) |
1.07 |
(0.81 – 1.41) |
|||||
|
Insurance |
||||||||||
|
Private |
9340711 |
67.7 |
(65.0 – 70.4) |
1.00 |
||||||
|
Medicaid and other public |
1748364 |
12.7 |
(10.8 – 14.6) |
0.87 |
(0.68 – 1.12) |
|||||
|
Other coverage |
492254 |
3.6 |
(2.6 – 4.5) |
0.54 |
(0.38 – 0.76) |
|||||
|
Uninsured |
2208325 |
16.0 |
(14.0 – 18.1) |
1.67 |
(1.28 – 2.17) |
|||||
|
Living status |
||||||||||
|
Not married |
5139876 |
36.9 |
(34.0 – 39.9) |
1.00 |
||||||
|
Married/living with partner |
8775840 |
63.1 |
(60.1 – 66.0) |
0.87 |
(0.72 – 1.05) |
|||||
|
BMI |
||||||||||
|
25 or less |
4026588 |
29.6 |
(27.1 – 32.2) |
1.00 |
||||||
|
25-30 |
4663294 |
34.3 |
(31.3 – 37.4) |
0.90 |
(0.72 – 1.11) |
|||||
|
30 or more |
4890799 |
36.0 |
(33.1 – 38.9) |
0.85 |
(0.70 – 1.05) |
|||||
|
Has primary care provider |
||||||||||
|
No |
5509810 |
40.1 |
(37.0 – 43.2) |
2.31 |
(1.93 – 2.76) |
|||||
|
Yes |
8229597 |
59.9 |
(56.8 – 63.0) |
1.00 |
||||||
|
General physical health |
||||||||||
|
Fair/poor |
1719244 |
12.3 |
(10.6 – 14.0) |
1.00 |
||||||
|
Good |
4278202 |
30.7 |
(28.2 – 33.2) |
1.86 |
(1.48 – 2.34) |
|||||
|
Excellent/very good |
7932796 |
56.9 |
(54.5 – 59.4) |
2.58 |
(2.07 – 3.22) |
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To cite this abstract in AMA style:
Jiang C, Luo Y. Non-Elderly Adults Who Have Never Seen a Health-Care Provider for Chronic Joint Symptoms- Updated Results from National Health Interview Survey 2015 [abstract]. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2018; 70 (suppl 9). https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/non-elderly-adults-who-have-never-seen-a-health-care-provider-for-chronic-joint-symptoms-updated-results-from-national-health-interview-survey-2015/. Accessed .« Back to 2018 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting
ACR Meeting Abstracts - https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/non-elderly-adults-who-have-never-seen-a-health-care-provider-for-chronic-joint-symptoms-updated-results-from-national-health-interview-survey-2015/