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JAMA. 1999;281:2177-2178.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

MMWR. 1999;48:349-353

2 tables omitted

Arthritis and other rheumatic conditions are the leading cause of disability in the United States,¹ affecting approximately 43 million persons² and costing $65 billion in 1992.³ By 2020, these numbers will increase as the population ages.⁴ This report examines several measures of the impact of arthritis on the U.S. health-care system; the findings indicate that arthritis and other rheumatic conditions have a large impact on hospitalizations, ambulatory-care visits, and home health care, with women accounting for most of this impact and all persons aged <65 years accounting for a substantial portion.

The impact on the health-care system was measured using the most recent data on inpatient care, ambulatory care, and home health care. The 1997 National Hospital Discharge Survey was used to measure the number of discharges (by first-listed discharge diagnosis), days of care, and average length of stay at short-stay, nonfederal hospitals. The 1997 . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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