OBJECTIVE: To compare the psychosocial status, functional limitations and time off work between osteoarthritic patients (OAP) and non-OAP in a national sample of US adults. METHODS: This retrospective study compared perceived health status (PHS), mental health status (MHS), physical limitations and time off work in the 2000 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS). Patients 18 years and older who reported having osteoarthritis (ICD-9-CM = 715) were included. Non-OAP were randomly matched on age, gender and race with the OAP. Patients with other and unspecified disorders of joints (ICD-9-CM = 719) were selected for further comparison. PHS and MHS were analyzed using ANCOVA, adjusting for number of co-morbidities. Odds ratio were estimated using logistic regression for patient-reported limitations. All analyses used patient specific sampling weights provided by MEPS. RESULTS: Approximately 1.7 million OAP and 1.8 million non-OAP were identified. PHS and MHS were reported on a scale of 1 to 5 with '1' being 'excellent' and '5' being 'poor'. A lower proportion of OAP (30%) reported having 'excellent ' or 'very good' health when compared to patients with other diagnoses (79%). OAP reported poorer PHS (3.02 vs. 1.94 respectively) and MHS (2.28 vs. 1.67 respectively) than non-OAP. Mean time off work due to illness was higher among OAP than those with other diagnoses (3.07 vs.1.83 respectively). OAP have increased odds of requiring assistance with ADL and IADL (2.19 and 2.07 respectively), while facing increased odds of social limitations (4.01). CONCLUSIONS: Osteoarthritis has a greater impact on patients' psychosocial status and their perception of health. OAP reported more limitations in functional abilities compared to non-OAP. These findings indicate that in addition to clinical efficacy, therapeutic effectiveness should include patient based outcome measures. Attributes like quality of life, which are important from the patients' perspective, should be emphasized.