Women are affected by arthritis at a higher rate than are men. Three out of five persons who self-report they have been told by a doctor that they have some form of arthritis are women. Women also are 50% more likely to report they have limitations with activities of daily living because of their arthritis.

Women also report in higher numbers they spent at least one-half day in bed in the previous 12 months due to an arthritis condition, and they reported a higher mean number of days spent in bed (25.7 versus 21.2 days for men). As a result, women accounted for 68% of all bed days attributed to arthritis conditions in 2012.

Although women reported missing work in the previous 12 months due to arthritis in higher numbers than men did, they reported a similar mean number of days lost. Still, women accounted for 59% of total lost workdays in 2012, attributable, at least in part, to an arthritic condition. (Reference Table 9A.4.1 PDF CSV)