May Is National Arthritis Awareness Month

May is recognized each year as National Arthritis Awareness Month. Arthritis is a disease that impacts more than 50 million Americans, making it the number one cause of disability in the country. That means 1 in every 5 adults, 300,000 children and countless families are affected by arthritis. These numbers are only going to keep growing—unless we take a stand

The Arthritis Foundation is leading the way to conquer arthritis and its effects through our advocacy efforts at the state level and on Capitol Hill, our cutting-edge scientific research, and our tools and resources that help you live your best life.

The first steps in conquering arthritis are learning the facts, understanding your condition and knowing that help is by your side. Below, you’ll find some telling statistics about the current impact of arthritis on the U.S. population, resources to help you learn more about arthritis, and additional information on how you can help and get involved.

Arthritis by the Numbers:

• Nearly 53 million adults have doctor-diagnosed arthritis; that number is expected to grow to 67 million by 2030.
• Almost 300,000 babies, kids and teens have arthritis or a rheumatic condition.
• 关节炎是美国残疾的第一大原因。
• Working-age men and women (ages 18 to 64) with arthritis are less likely to be employed than those of the same age without arthritis.
• 三分之一的适龄工作人群患有关节炎，他们的工作能力受到限制，他们可以做的工作类型受到限制，他们是否可以兼职或全职工作。
• People with osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis –two major kinds of arthritis – miss a combined 172 million workdays every year.
• 关节炎和相关疾病每年造成的工资损失和医疗费用损失超过1,560亿美元。
• There are nearly 1 million hospitalizations each year due to arthritis.
• 57% of adults with heart disease have arthritis.
• 52%的成人糖尿病患者有关节炎。
• 44% of adults with high blood pressure have arthritis.
• 36% of adults who are obese have arthritis.
• 1/3 of adults with arthritis age 45 and older have either anxiety or depression.

You can visit our website for evenmore arthritis facts and statistics >>

Resources That Can Help:

• Learn more about the differenttypes of arthritison the Arthritis Foundation website
• Check out our resources to help you find ways tolive better with arthritis
• Learn more about thetools and resourceswe offer to help you manage your disease
• Sign up for our e-newslettersto stay updated on the latest news and information related to arthritis

How You Can Get Involved:

• Sign up to participate in one of our eventsand help fundraise for a cure.
• Learn more aboutour advocacy effortsandsign up to become an Arthritis Foundation Advocate.
• Learn more about thescientific discovery we’re doing to help find a cure.
• Make a donation– over 75 cents of every dollar we raise supports our mission of finding a cure and providing tools and resources to improve lives.
• Become a Champion of Yes– tell us your story. We can all learn from each other when it comes to arthritis. What do you do to overcome the obstacles arthritis creates? What gives you hope? What are you most proud of? How has arthritis changed your life? We want to hear from you!