Prevention at work needed to curb the worldwide strong increase in knee replacement surgery for working-age osteoarthritis patients

摘要

In the upcoming decades, hospitals and clinics around the world face a steep rise in demand from patientsseeking knee replacement surgery. An absolute increase in knee replacement surgery of 297% – to 57 893procedures – is forecasted in The Netherlands between 2005 and 2030 (1). The situation is similar in many coun-tries: Sweden, 163% to 21 700 (2013–2030) (2); Italy, 45% to about 100 000 (2017–2050) (3), the UK, 916%to about 1.2 million (2015–2035) (4); Australia, 276% to 65 569 (2013–2030) (5); and the USA, 673% to 3.48million (2005–2030) (6). No projections are available for Asia, however, similar growth percentages have alreadybeen seen in Japan of 373% (2007–2014) (7) and Korea (407%, 2001–2010) (8). Knee replacement surgery orarthroplasty is the final treatment option for patients suffering from knee osteoarthritis (OA). These increasingnumbers are alarming, not only due to the extreme high demands on healthcare provision and budgets, but alsofor the unforeseen impact on work participation. There is a lack of awareness how work might play a significantrole in reducing the steep rise in replacement surgery for knee OA across the world.