Does it seem like there's more people now than even a generation ago with arthritis? I remember one of my aunts and one of my grandmothers had arthritis -- but it wasn't everyone. In my family alone, four of my siblings have arthritis and most of my friends. What is that all about?

Almost 30 million adults in the United States have diagnosed osteoarthritis (OA) in one or more joints. With another 1.3 million affected by rheumatoid arthritis that makes arthritis the second most common musculoskeletal disease in America.

It's actually a little more complex than that. There are more than 100 diseases that fall under the category of arthritis and other related conditions or AORC. Besides osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, there are conditions such as gout, lupus, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, and many others.

All added together, one-fifth of the adult population in the United States has some form of arthritis. That's almost 50 million people. And it's not just older adults who are affected. Two-thirds of these individuals are under the age of 65. Men and women are both affected, although women tend to be the larger group of patients diagnosed with arthritis of some type.

There are several factors for the phenomenon you are noticing and describing. First, Americans today are living longer than previous generations. And they are more active. These two reasons alone are enough to explain what appears to be an unprecedented increase in the prevalence of arthritis. Prevalence refers to how many people on any given day have this disease.

Researchers are actively striving to find an answer to the problem of arthritis and other related conditions. Identifying risk factors that could be modified (changed) to prevent or delay the onset of arthritis is the first goal. Second to that, finding medications or other forms of treatment that don't involve surgery that can help is another focus of scientists.