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Arthritis Funding, Research Needed
NEW
YORK (Reuters Health) - Diseases of the bones and muscles such
as arthritis and rheumatism are the leading causes of disability
in the United States and other developed countries. Yet this category
of ailments stays on the back burner when it comes to research
and funding, results of a recent study suggest.
``Arthritis
and other musculoskeletal problems have a major health impact
on individuals, their families and the population, yet relatively
little space in medical journals is directed toward these problems,''
Dr. Richard Glazier, the study's lead author, told Reuters Health.
``This finding
suggests that there is inadequate research and continuing education
about arthritis and other musculoskeletal problems,'' he added.
Glazier and
his colleagues investigated the frequency of arthritis-related
publications by performing a MEDLINE search for articles published
in 1991 and 1996. MEDLINE is a national medical database that
covers 4,300 journals published in the US and overseas.
In both years,
musculoskeletal diseases such as arthritis ranked ninth out of
12 disease categories in the number of citations in medical literature,
the authors report in the April issue of The Journal of Rheumatology.
This ranking was far below that of the cancer and heart disease
categories, ranked one and two respectively, the report indicates.
Yet musculoskeletal
diseases were the number one cause of health professional consultations
and the leading contributor to total health costs, study findings
show.
``The general
public, government decision makers, educators and funding agencies
should re-examine the priority given to arthritis and other musculoskeletal
problems,'' Glazier said.
Under the
musculoskeletal subheading, bone diseases were the most commonly
cited conditions, and joint diseases--including arthritis--came
in second, the researchers report. Under the arthritis category,
however, less than 25% of the citations were related to osteoarthritis--the
leading cause of arthritis disability in the general population,
the authors note.
``These findings
suggest...that osteoarthritis is a relatively neglected condition
within the relatively neglected realm of musculoskeletal diseases,''
Glazier and his team write.
The researcher
added, ``public perceptions that joint pain is an inevitable consequence
of aging and that nothing can be done about it are wrong. These
perceptions affect research funders and educators and also prevent
many people from receiving effective treatments for these conditions.''
SOURCE:
The Journal of Rheumatology 2001;28:706-711.
Reference
Source 89
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