Canada, HIS, 1978–79 (Lee 1985)2 | Not specified | Not specified | Arthritis or rheumatism, and serious trouble with back or spine or other bones and joints | 13.2 | 18.8 | 16.0 |
Canada, HALS, 1986–87 (Reynolds 1992)3 | ⩾15 | 132337 | Five types of disabling musculoskeletal disease (arthritis, back, trauma, bone) based on existing codes in the HALS data as developed by a team of rheumatologists, epidemiologists, and biostatisticians | 5.72 | 3.75 | 4.76 |
Canada, Ontario Health Survey, 1990 (Badley 1994, 1995)4,5 | ⩾16 | 45650 | Among list of 19 health conditions: | | | |
| | | Arthritis or rheumatism | 15.7 | 21.1 | 8.5 |
| | | Serious trouble with back pain | 11.4 | 10.5 | 11.0 |
| | | Other serious problems with the joints or bones | 5.5 | 4.2 | 4.8 |
| | | Any musculoskeletal | | | 21.6 |
Canada, NHIS, 1994 (Wang 2000)6 | ⩾20 | 39240 | Do you have arthritis or rheumatism diagnosed by a health professional? | 10.5 | 17.6 | |
USA, HES, 1960–62 (Miles 1993)7 | ⩾55 | 1551 | Have you ever had any reason to think that you may have rheumatism or arththritis? Did a doctor tell you it was rheumatism or arthritis? | | | 37.2 |
USA, NHANES II, 1976–1980 (Miles 1993)7 | ⩾55 | 6846 | Has a doctor ever told you that you had arthritis/gout? (among list of chronic conditions) | | | 44.3 |
USA, NHIS-SOA, 1984 (Miles 1993)7 | ⩾55 | 14359 | During the past 12 months, did you have arthritis? (among list of chronic conditions) | | | 47.7 |
USA, Social Security Survey of Disability and Work, 1978 (Pincus 1987)8 | 18–64 | 5652 | (Among list of 37 conditions) | | | |
| | | Arthritis/rheumatism | | | 11.3 |
| | | Back stiffness | | | 2.6 |
| | | Other back problems | | | 7.9 |
USA, NLTCS, 1982, 1984, 1989 (Manton 1995)9 | ⩾65 | 6088/5899/4463 | Arthritis (among list of 16 chonic conditions) | | 71.1 (1982) |
| | | | | 70.5 (1984) |
| | | | | 63.1 (1989) |
USA, NHIS, 1989–91 (Helmick 1995)10 | All | 59289 | Self reported arthritis and other rheumatic diseases according to ICD-9 codes recommended by the USA National Arthritis Data Workshop | 11.7 | 18.0 | 15.0 |
USA, NHIS, 1994–95 (MMWR 2001)11 | All | 36057 | Self reported arthritis and other rheumatic diseases according to ICD-9 codes recommended by the USA National Arthritis Data Workshop | 12.5 | 19.5 | 16.1 |
USA, Health and Retirement Survey, 1992 (Yelin 1992)12 | 51–61 | 8739 | Arthritis or problems with the back or feet (among list of chronic conditions) | | | 62.4 |
| | | Arthritis or problems with the back or feet only (no other chronic condition) | | | 20.0 |
Finland, Mini-Finland Health Survey, 1978–80 (Heliövaara 1993)13 | ⩾30 | 7217 | Have you any defect or injury that reduces your general working capacity, or any chronic illness? (If yes) Define or describe these impairments or illnesses | | | |
| | | Inflammatory polyarthritis | | | 2.1 |
| | | Osteoarthritis | | | 4.7 |
| | | Low back disorder | | | 11.8 |
| | | Neck-shoulder disorder | | | 3.2 |
| | | Musculoskeletal disease (any) | | | 20.6 |
Scotland, Health Survey, 1993 (Cohen 1995)14 | ⩾16 | 6212 | Arthritis or painful joints | | | 39.7 |
Norway, HIS, 1985 (Brage 1997)15 | 16–66 | 6681 | Musculoskeletal disease (according to ICD-8 codes 710–738, 754–756, 787) | 17.3 | 20.6 | 19.0 |
Norway, survey, year not specified (Gram 1997)16 | Not specified | 14420 | Rheumatoid arthritis | 1.6 | 1.6 | |
The Netherlands, NHIS, 1989–92 (Picavet 1997)17 | ⩾16 | 24191 | Musculoskeletal conditions (arthritis, osteoarthritis, and severe back problems) | | | 17.5 |
Australia (South), South Australian Health Omnibus Study, 1995 (Hill, 1999)18 | ⩾15 | 3001 | Have you ever been told by a doctor that you have arthritis? | 16.6 | 27.6 | 22.2 |
| | | By type: | | | |
| | | Osteoarthritis | 5.1 | 11.9 | |
| | | Rheumatoid arthritis | 3.2 | 4.9 | |
| | | Other or unspecified | 8.3 | 10.8 | |