AI Insight
By 2050, nearly 1 billion people worldwide are projected to live with osteoarthritis, a disabling musculoskeletal condition with no current cure. Despite its significant health burden and economic costs, osteoarthritis remains largely absent from national and global health policy agendas and is poorly integrated into chronic disease management frameworks. The condition suffers from an identity problem, being widely perceived as an inevitable consequence of aging with limited treatment options, which perpetuates stigma, creates barriers to effective interventions, and leads to its continued deprioritization in health policy.
Why it matters
This policy analysis highlights a critical gap in global health priorities that affects hundreds of millions of people currently and will impact nearly a billion by mid-century. Addressing osteoarthritis's invisibility in health policy could improve access to existing effective interventions, reduce disability and healthcare costs, and combat the stigma that prevents people from seeking appropriate care.
Understand the Science
By 2050, almost 1 billion people are expected to live with osteoarthritis—a disabling musculoskeletal condition with currently no cure. Despite its burden and costs, osteoarthritis remains largely invisible in national and global health agendas, is poorly integrated within service models for other chronic health conditions, and is frequently perceived as inevitable with ageing and associated with limited therapeutic options. This context drives an osteoarthritis identity problem that fuels frustration among those living with the disease and health-care professionals, perpetuates stigma and inequities, undermines access to effective interventions, and crucially, deprioritises osteoarthritis in health policy.