QuickStats: Age-Adjusted Percentage* of Adults with Chronic Joint Symptoms, by Sex and Race/Ethnicity — National Health Interview Survey, United States 2013–2014§

Article Metrics
Altmetric:
Related Materials

The figure above is a bar chart showing that during 2013–2014, women were more likely than men to have chronic symptoms of pain, aching, or stiffness in or around a joint for >3 months. This pattern was observed regardless of race/ethnicity. Among non-Hispanic black adults, 29.0% of women had chronic joint pain compared with 23.2% of men. Among non-Hispanic white adults, 30.2% of women had chronic joint pain compared with 28.4% of men. Among Hispanic adults, 24.1% of women had chronic joint pain compared with 19.0% of men. Hispanic men and women also were less likely than non-Hispanic black and non-Hispanic white men and women to have chronic joint pain.

* With 95% confidence interval.

Based on responses to a question that asked sample adults, “During the past 30 days, have you had any symptoms of pain, aching, or stiffness in or around a joint?” Respondents were asked to exclude the back or neck. Respondents who answered affirmatively were then asked a follow-up question, “Did your joint symptoms first begin more than 3 months ago?” Only respondents with affirmative answers to both questions were included in the analysis. Chronic pain is pain lasting >3 months.

§ Estimates are based on household interviews of a sample of the U.S. civilian, noninstitutionalized population aged ≥18 years. Persons for whom chronic pain was unknown were not included in the denominators when calculating percentages. Percentages were age-adjusted to the projected 2000 U.S. population as the standard population, using four age groups: 18–44, 45–64, 65–74, and ≥75 years.

During 2013–2014, women were more likely than men to have chronic symptoms of pain, aching, or stiffness in or around a joint for >3 months. This pattern was observed regardless of race/ethnicity. Among non-Hispanic black adults, 29.0% of women had chronic joint pain compared with 23.2% of men. Among non-Hispanic white adults, 30.2% of women had chronic joint pain compared with 28.4% of men. Among Hispanic adults, 24.1% of women had chronic joint pain compared with 19.0% of men. Hispanic men and women also were less likely than non-Hispanic black and non-Hispanic white men and women to have chronic joint pain.

Source: National Health Interview Survey, 2013–2014. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhis.htm.

Reported by: Debra L. Blackwell, PhD, Debra.Blackwell@cdc.hhs.gov, 301-458-4103; Tainya C. Clarke, PhD.


Suggested citation for this article: QuickStats: Age-Adjusted Percentage of Adults with Chronic Joint Symptoms, by Sex and Race/Ethnicity — National Health Interview Survey, United States 2013–2014. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2016;65:132. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6505a9external icon.

MMWR and Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report are service marks of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Use of trade names and commercial sources is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
References to non-CDC sites on the Internet are provided as a service to MMWR readers and do not constitute or imply endorsement of these organizations or their programs by CDC or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. CDC is not responsible for the content of pages found at these sites. URL addresses listed in MMWR were current as of the date of publication.

All HTML versions of MMWR articles are generated from final proofs through an automated process. This conversion might result in character translation or format errors in the HTML version. Users are referred to the electronic PDF version (https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr) and/or the original MMWR paper copy for printable versions of official text, figures, and tables.

Questions or messages regarding errors in formatting should be addressed to mmwrq@cdc.gov.

View Page In:pdf icon
Page last reviewed: August 25, 2017