FRIDAY, Dec. 22, 2023 (HealthDay News) — Globally, 494 million people had other musculoskeletal disorders in 2020, with a 115 percent increase projected to 2050, according to a study published online in the November issue of The Lancet Rheumatology.

Tiffany K. Gill, Ph.D., from the University of Adelaide in Australia, and colleagues estimated the prevalence of other musculoskeletal disorders in 204 countries and territories from 1990 to 2020 using data from 68 sources across 23 countries. The category of “other musculoskeletal disorders” comprises a residual musculoskeletal category for conditions other than osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, gout, low back pain, and neck pain and includes systemic lupus erythematosus and spondylopathies. By regressing prevalence estimates from 1990 to 2020, prevalence was forecast to 2050.

The researchers found that in 2020, 494 million people had other musculoskeletal disorders globally, which represented an increase of 123.4 percent in total cases from 1990. From 2020 to 2050, cases of other musculoskeletal disorders are projected to increase by 115 percent, to an estimated 1,060 million prevalent cases in 2050. At least a 50 percent increase in cases was projected between 2020 and 2050 for most regions. For other musculoskeletal disorders, the global age-standardized prevalence was 47.4 percent higher in women than men and increased with age, peaking in men and women at 65 to 69 years. Globally, other musculoskeletal disorders were the sixth ranked cause of years lived with disability (42.7 million) and were associated with 83,100 deaths in 2020.

“The large disease burden from this diverse category of musculoskeletal disorders emphasizes the need to address musculoskeletal conditions in general,” the authors write.

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