Osteoarthritis joint wear as a mass phenomenon

Joint wear mostly reason for rehab stay

24/01/2013

13 percent of all rehab patients are treated for osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis of the hip or knee joints is the most frequent reason for inpatient treatment in a rehabilitation institution in Germany - this was announced on Wednesday by the Federal Statistical Office in Wiesbaden. According to the Office, in 2011 about 216,000 patients were treated with rehabilitation facilities with more than 100 beds - „this corresponds to a share of approximately 13% in the total of 1.6 million patients“, the office in a recent press release.

1.6 million patients in screening or rehabilitation facilities - that was just over 10 years ago, when nearly 1.5 million patients were recorded. The average length of stay in such a facility was 25 days, leaving patients (870,000 women and 730,000 men) on average four days longer than the standard three-week prescription.

Osteoarthritis affects especially elderly patients
Elderly patients are the most affected by joint wear and tear - the average age of the patients diagnosed with hip or knee osteoarthritis was 68 years, according to the Federal Statistical Office, with almost two-thirds (62%) of those affected being between 65 and 84 years old one third (33%), on the other hand, between 45 and 64 years old. In addition were „5,800 patients (3%) are treated in a preventive or rehabilitation facility, even among those of very old age of more than 85 years“, according to the information of the Office.

Mental problems often reason for rehab in the younger ones
On the other hand, osteoarthritis hardly plays a role in the under-45s. In this age group (15 to 44 years) instead, according to the statistics experts of the Federal Office primarily mental illnesses such. Depression or the so-called „Burn-out syndrome“ lead to a stay in a preventive or rehab facility - in 2011 this was 38 percent of the cases, an increase of 12 percentage points compared to 2003.

Young rehab patients suffer primarily from asthma or obesity
In the under-15s group, statisticians also identified another major reason for in-patient rehab treatment: asthma. Around 11,000 young patients (13%) with this condition were treated in rehabilitation facilities in 2011. However, obesity (obesity) would also play a key role in this age group: „It was the cause of inpatient care in a preventive or rehabilitation facility in nearly 6,000 patients“, so the information of the Federal Office. (Sb)

Also read about osteoarthritis:
Diabetes as a cause of osteoarthritis

Credit: med2help