UPFRONT | News and events PATIENT CARE Arthritis in younger adults more common than reported Arthritis, which causes chronic joint pain and stiff-ness, is significantly more common in American adults ages 18 to 64 than previously estimated, according to a recent statistical study. The condition joins a growing list of diseases affecting younger adults that require immedi-ate treatment, but are often ignored, creating greater risks to their health and well-being. The study, published in Arthritis and Rheumatology, estimated that more than 91 million Americans have ar-thritis, including 61 million adults ages 18 to 64. The es-timates for younger adults nearly double previously published national estimates of arthritis incidents. “The results of this study are eye-opening, particularly because arthritis is a condi-tion commonly associated with older populations,” said Sherry McAllister, DC, exec-utive vice president of the Foundation for Chiropractic Progress (F4CP), a not-for-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness about the value of chiropractic care. “Worse yet, younger people are less likely to seek profes-sional treatment for this condition, which can lead to greater stiffness and discom-fort down the road. It’s cru-cial that any sort of lingering physical discomfort is ad-dressed promptly by a quali-fied doctor.” Hypertension, melanoma and back and neck pain are also becoming more common among younger adults. For the latter, treating chronic pain with an opioid raises further risks to young adults’ 6 Canadian Chiropractor February 2019 A fresh start @THRIVECHIROYGK Dr. Kim of Thrive Chiro, located in Kingston, Ontario, gives some paediatric treatment to his nephew so he can start 2019 off right. “We had a special visitor this New Year’s Eve! Dr. Kim’s nephew is getting a healthy head start with a spinal check for the coming New Year.” health and well-being as it may lead to misuse, addic-tion, overdose and in some cases, fatality. In fact, the age group with the highest rate of nonmedical opioid use is young adults ages 18 to 25. Instead, experts at the F4CP offer the following tips to help alleviate pain related to arthritis: Exercise: Aim for a mini-mum of 30 minutes of exer-cise three to five days a week. Learn proper stretching techniques and do them often. Eat Right and Drink Wa-ter: A healthy diet – rich in fruits, vegetables and healthy fats – can help reduce inflam-mation and joint pain. Also limit red meat, refined sugar, white flour and processed foods. Consult a chiropractor: Schedule a consultation to discuss an appropriate care plan that can help reduce pain and optimize overall health and well-being. “Because the available medications for arthrits pain carry risks of side effects, it’s smart to try other ways to ease pain,” says Marcy O’Koon, from the Arthritis Foundation. “[DC’s] successfully treat a wide range of conditions in patients of all ages, which is part of the reason patients report such high satisfaction compared with other types of care,” McAllister says. “Combined with the right lifestyle choices and preven-tive care, chiropractic care can help younger adults avoid chronic pain and pur-sue healthy, active lives.” — Foundation for Chiro-practic Progress 598 likes View all comments PATIENT CARE Amplification of costs for multimorbidity Having two or more non-communicable diseases (multimorbidity) costs the country more than the sum of those individual diseases would cost, according to a new study published this week in PLOS Medicine by Tony Blakely from the University of Otago, New Zealand, and colleagues. Few studies have estimated disease-specific health system expenditure for many diseases simultaneously. In the new work, the researchers used nationally linked health data for all New Zealanders, including hospitalization, outpatient, pharmaceutical, laboratory and primary care from July 1, 2007 through June 30, 2014. The team calculated annual health expenditure per person and analyzed the association of this spending to whether a person had any of six non-communicable disease classes – cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, musculoskeletal, neurological, and lung/liver/kidney (LLK) diseases – or a combination of any of those diseases. 59 per cent of publically-funded health expenditures in New Zealand were attributable to non-communicable diseases. Nearly a quarter (23.8 per cent) of this spending was attributable to the costs of having two or more diseases above and beyond what the diseases cost separately. Of the remaining spending, heart disease and stroke accounted for 18.7 per cent, followed by MSK (16.2 per cent), neurological (14.4 per cent), cancer (14.1 per cent), LLK disease (7.4 per cent) and diabetes (5.5 per cent). Expenditure was generally the highest in the year of diagnosis and the year of death. “There is a surprising lack of disease-attributed costing studies involving multiple diseases at once,” the authors say. “Governments and health systems managers and funders can improve planning and prioritization knowing where the money goes.” —PLOS www.canadianchiropractor.ca
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