Arthritis to cost $7.6 billion
May 31, 2016
AS ONE of the most common,
costly and disabling chronic
conditions in Australia, arthritis
presently costs the health system
$5.5 billion annually but is set to
explode out to $7.6b by 2030,
according to a new report from
Arthritis Australia.
The number of sufferers was 3.9
million in 2015 but is estimated to
reach 5.4 million by 2030 as the
population ages.
While 86% of arthritis diagnosed
in Australia is “wear and tear”
osteoarthritis, the largest
health costs are tagged to other
autoimmune forms, predominantly
rheumatoid arthritis.
Osteoarthritis health system
costs exceeded $2.1b in 2015 and
are forecast to reach more than
$2.9b in 2030, while other forms of
arthritis cost $3.4b in 2015 and will
rise to $4.7b by 2030.
One of the least common forms is
juvenile arthritis which is expected
to increase from 6,006 children in
2015 to 7,334 children in 2030, the
report said.
If all children with juvenile
arthritis received best practice care
the total cost to the health system
could be approximately $40.3m
annually but by 2030, this could rise
to almost $50m, the data suggests.
Arthritis is described as the
second most common cause of
early retirement due to ill-health in
Australia, with 52,000 people aged
15-64 years out of the labour force
due to their illness and a further
19,000 primary carers unable to
work in order to fulfil their caring
responsibilities.
In terms of lost GDP due to early
retirement, the report explained
this translates into a whopping
$7.2b annually, and estimated to
reach $9.4b by 2030.
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