Prevalence of osteoarthritis in England

New funded research

Arthritis UK have funded new research to provide the most up-to-date estimates on the number of people with hip and knee osteoarthritis (OA) across England. The data shows how common OA is, and how it varies between different local areas and groups of people. This research provides estimates of hip and knee OA at local authority and Integrated Care Board (ICB) level across England. 

These estimates can help healthcare services, local government and public health teams understand the scale of OA in their communities and plan services around the needs of their local populations. 

The estimates were generated by Analytics for Change, using data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA). The data was collected between 2021 and 2023 on people aged 50 and over, combined with population and public health local-level data.

What did we find?

Our new estimates found 21.8% of people have knee OA and 15.6% have hip OA (aged 50 and over in England). 

For some people, OA causes significant pain and can make everyday activities more difficult. We found 14.7% of people have moderate or severe knee OA, and 10.4% have moderate or severe hip OA.

OA does not affect everyone equally

The data highlights differences in OA prevalence between different groups of people. 

For both hip and knee OA, prevalence is higher among women and older people. There are also higher rates among people living in more deprived areas, people with lower levels of education, and people with higher BMI. 

These differences underline the importance of understanding who is most affected by OA and where they live when planning health and care services.

Explore the data

You can explore the full dataset of prevalence estimates, including figures for local authorities and ICBs and breakdowns by age, sex, education, deprivation, smoking and BMI, in the downloadable spreadsheet below. 

• Download the osteoarthritis prevalence dataset (Excel).

The Technical Report explains how the estimates were produced, including the data sources, statistical methods and results. The primary audience of this report are academics and researchers. 

• Download the Technical Report (PDF).

The Summary Report is a shorter lay-friendly version of the Technical Report with the aim to be accessible to all audiences.

• Download the Summary Report (PDF).