Photo Credit: Ilya Lukichev

Globally, 494 million people had other musculoskeletal disorders in 2020, with a 115% increase projected by 2050, according to a study published in The Lancet Rheumatology. Researchers estimated the prevalence of other musculoskeletal disorders in 204 countries and territories from 1990 to 2020 using data from 68 sources. The category of “other musculoskeletal disorders” comprises a residual musculoskeletal category for conditions other than osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, gout, low back pain, and neck pain and includes systemic lupus erythematosus and spondylopathies. They found that in 2020, 494 million people had other musculoskeletal disorders globally, which represented an increase of 123.4% in total cases from 1990. From 2020 to 2050, cases of other musculoskeletal disorders are projected to increase by 115%, to an estimated 1,060 million prevalent cases in 2050. At least a 50% increase in cases was projected between 2020 and 2050 for most regions.