OBJECTIVES

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Notwithstanding the high prevalence of osteoarthritis (OA), there is a knowledge gap of the burden on the health care system and society. This study investigated the extent of health care utilization and sick leave in patients with OA in Israel.

METHODS

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We performed a retrospective cohort study of 180,126 persons aged ≥18 years from Maccabi Healthcare Services with OA diagnosis between 2013 and 2018. Sick leave was defined as one or more medically certified sickness episodes during the study period. Health care utilization comprised outpatient visits, hospitalizations, and OA-related surgical and nonsurgical procedures.

RESULTS

: During 2013-2018, 73,865 (41.01%) of OA patients had ≥1 sick leave (median, 5; interquartile range [IQR], 2-12 episodes). Among OA patients of working age, 65,371 (55.99%) had at least one sick leave (median, 6; IQR, 2-13 episodes). More than half of patients attended the outpatient clinic at least once during the study period: 57.31% made visits to primary care physicians (median, 38; IQR, 21-62 visits), 12.91% had rheumatologist visits (median 2; IQR, 1-4 visits), 53.42% referred to orthopedists (median, 5; IQR, 2-10 visits), and 54.14% were seen by nurses (median, 8; IQR, 4-15 visits). More than half (53.49%) of patients were hospitalized at least once (median, 3; IQR, 1-10 hospitalizations) with a 3-day median length of hospital stay (IQR, 1-10 days). Procedures were conducted in 57.74% of OA patients (median, 101; IQR, 49-187 procedures); a small proportion underwent arthroplasty or arthroscopy interventions (3.44% and 1.71%, respectively). In contrast, 45.79% utilized physiotherapy services (median, 17; IQR, 6-38 sessions).

CONCLUSIONS

: The proportion of sick leave and health care utilization among OA patients is about 40-50% during a relatively short period. Future research comparing OA patients with the general population may shed light on the OA economic burden on society and the toll on a person's life.