SUSTAINABLE AFFORDABLE HEALTHCARE
Figure three: Prevalence of osteoarthritis of the knee by age/sex/region
WHO osteoarthritis report. A - regions = Developed countries in North America/Western Europe/Japan/Australia/ New Zealand; AF = Sub-Saharan Africa; AM BD = Developing countries in the Americas; EM = Eastern Mediterra- nean/North Africa; EU BC = Developing countries in Europe; SEA = South-East Asia; WP B = Countries in Western Pacific region.
This is due to an increasing
sedentary lifestyle, reduction in physical activity, changes in food processing, urbanization and changes to transportation. A recent study published in the leading medical journal The Lancet in 2012 reports that obesity has now become the sixth most important risk factor for death. An ageing population is a significant risk factor for
musculoskeletal disease. Females live longer than males with the worldwide life expectancy of a female born in 2050 predicted to be 79 years versus 74 years for a male. In the U.K., life expectancy for females is 83 and 79 for males, an increase from 53 and 49 years over the past 100 years. Overall, approximately 14 per cent of people (18 per cent female and 10 per cent male) will suffer from symptomatic osteoarthritis worldwide. The knee
44 | The Parliamentarian | 2013: Issue One
is affected more than the hip, and Europe and America have the highest prevalence compared to the rest of the world. The economic burden of musculoskeletal disease worldwide is increasing. A study in 1997 of Australia, Canada, France, the U.K. and the U.S.A. found that the cost was 2.5 per cent of Gross National Product. If this figure is used with today’s world Gross National Income
of 2.5 per cent, the cost is equivalent to £1.28 trillion (using 2011 figures). As the U.K.’s and the world’s
populations are ageing, it is clear that the burden of musculoskeletal disease could severely damage the economy and, if we do not change, treatment costs may become unsustainable.
Focused action – A new model The NHS is on a knife-edge with
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