Old Before Their Time? The Impact of Osteoarthritis on Younger Adults.

Objective: Osteoarthritis (OA) is frequently perceived as a disease of the elderly and an inevitable result of aging. Because OA studies often are restricted to older adults, there is limited information on OA in younger adults. This study describes the burden of OA across a wide age range and compares younger and older adults.

Methods: Descriptive analysis of the Survey on Living with Chronic Diseases in Canada - Arthritis Component, a nationally representative survey of Canadians ≥20 years who reported an arthritis diagnosis in the Canadian Community Health Survey, a general health population survey. Analyses were restricted to those reporting OA and no other kind of arthritis (n = 1,749).

Results: In the representative group with OA, 55.4% were younger than 65 years. The mean age at diagnosis was 50 years, with 30.4% reporting being diagnosed before age 45 years. Younger adults reported similar symptom severity as their older counterparts with OA regarding the mean number of affected joint sites, severity of pain and fatigue, and activity limitations. In the youngest age group, those with OA were significantly more likely to report fair or poor overall and mental health and life dissatisfaction compared with their general counterparts; the same was not the case in the oldest age group.

Conclusion: OA is not uncommon among younger and middle-aged adults, and they experience OA impacts comparable with those for older adults. These findings suggest that younger adults with OA will live many years with symptoms and disability and highlight a need for effective OA management across ages.