Burden of musculoskeletal disease and its determination by urbanicity, socioeconomic status, age, and sex: Results from 14,507 subjects.

OBJECTIVE: The availability of reliable estimates of the burden of musculoskeletal disease is of considerable importance for policymakers.
METHODS: This study uses data from the 14,507 participants of the European Health Interview Survey conducted in Austria in 2006/2007 to calculate estimates of the prevalence of osteoarthritis, spinal conditions, and osteoporosis in a population representative of other European Union or Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development member states. Urbanicity, socioeconomic status, and age and sex were included as determinants of musculoskeletal disease.
RESULTS: The prevalence of arthritis was 18.8% (95% confidence interval [95% CI] 18.2-19.4%), of spinal conditions was 38.4% (95% CI 37.6-39.2%), and of osteoporosis was 6.6% (95% CI 6.3-7.0%). The census data showed strong evidence for an association between urbanicity and arthritis (P = 0.012) and osteoporosis (P < 0.001), but not spinal conditions (P = 0.721). Arthritis and spinal conditions were associated with socioeconomic status (P < 0.001 for all). Osteoporosis showed the same associations with age, income, and education. For arthritis, a combined model showed a substantial attenuation of the effect of urbanicity on arthritis prevalence after adjustment for socioeconomic status.
CONCLUSION: These data suggest that the burden of musculoskeletal disease is determined by both urbanicity and socioeconomic status; however, the effect of urbanicity seems to be attributable to differences in socioeconomic status and demographics across geographic regions.