by Fariya Farah, a college senior and NewsHour Classroom summer intern
You may have heard of arthritis.
Maybe one of your loved ones has arthritis or maybe your friend or someone they know has the disease.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 24% of all adults in the United States, or 58.5 million people, have arthritis . About 1 in 10 adults limit the activities they engage in because of the disease.
What exactly is arthritis?
1. Arthritis is a disease that affects the joints
A joint is a place where two bones meet, like at your elbow or knee. And arthritis refers to any kind of joint inflammation . As a result of this inflammation , a person may experience swelling, pain, stiffness and a diminished range of motion at their joints.
How people experience arthritis symptoms may vary: some people may experience their symptoms every day while for others it comes and goes; some people may experience mild symptoms while for others it's severe; and some people's symptoms may remain the same or improve while, for others, they get worse.
It's important to remember that arthritis may occur in people of any age and sex.
2. There are more than 100 types of arthritis and related conditions
Because of its broad definition, arthritis includes a number of different diseases with many different causes.
The most common form of arthritis is osteoarthritis , which is a disease in which the tissues in the joint break down over time. Although osteoarthritis can damage almost any joint, it mainly occurs in the hands, spine, hips and knees . Osteoarthritis is more common in older adults.
Other forms of arthritis include gout (metabolic arthritis), rheumatoid arthritis and lupus (autoimmune inflammatory arthritis). Rheumatoid arthritis and lupus can also affect multiple organs and cause widespread symptoms.
3. There are different interventions that may reduce arthritis-related pain
The CDC has recognized several proven approaches to reduce arthritis symptoms. For example, being active, maintaining a healthy weight and reducing activity that may damage your joints have all been proven to mitigate arthritis-related pain.
Additionally, there are medications available to treat arthritis as well as physical therapy and joint surgery .
4. You can decrease your risk of getting arthritis or worsening your arthritis symptoms by changing the risk factors that you can control
Risk factors are behaviors or characteristics that increase a person's likelihood for getting a disease or making it worse.
Risk factors for arthritis include factors you can't control, like your age (your risk increases as you get older), your gender (most types of arthritis are more common in women), and your genetics (people born with certain genes are more likely to develop certain types of arthritis).
However, there are also certain risk factors that you can control.
For example, maintaining a healthy weight, getting early treatment if you have an infection (infected joints can develop into arthritis), preventing joint injuries, and not smoking can decrease your risk of developing arthritis.
Additional resources
- View NewsHour’s coverage of arthritis here.
- Older individuals who have an increased risk of developing arthritis can continue to lead an enriched and fulfilling life. For example, hear from choreographer and dancer Stuart Hodes , who danced into old age. Hodes passed away in March 2023 .
- Learn how drug companies are teaming up with the National Institute of Health to develop new treatments for a bunch of different diseases, including lupus and rheumatoid arthritis
Discussion questions
- What is arthritis?
- How can you help someone with arthritis?
- What is a problem that people with arthritis may face? And what solution can you come up with to help address that problem? For inspiration on inventing solutions, explore our invention education lessons here .
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