Replacements of Arthritic Joints Soar in Canada

The number of total knee and total hip replacements -- a common surgery performed on arthritis patients -- is rising in Canada, with the majority of the procedures performed on patients age 55 and older, according to the Canadian Institute for Health Information.

From the year 1994/1995 to the year 1999/2000, there was a 45.2 percent increase in the annual number of total knee replacements and a 19.3 percent increase in the annual number of total hip replacements performed.

A new database, called the Canadian Joint Replacement Registry, is now tracking the number of joint replacements being performed on Canadian patients.

"The number of total knee and total hip replacements is rising annually and this increase in demand will likely continue as the population ages," said Greg Webster, CIHI's Manager of Clinical Registries. "In fact, our data show that of the 43,338 total joint replacement surgeries performed in Canada in 1999/2000, 89.4 percent were for people aged 55 and over."

In 1999/2000, the majority of total knee and total hip replacements were performed on women (59.8 percent and 57.8 percent respectively). Between 1994/1995 and 1999/2000, the number of total knee replacement surgeries increased by 46.6 percent for men and 44.3 percent for women and the number of total hip replacements increased by 21.7 percent for men and 17.7 for women.

Other sources: CIHI