More than 1 million West Australians to face arthritis, back problems and osteoporosis by 2045

More than one million people in the State are expected to be living with a musculoskeletal condition by 2045 — and women will face the greatest burden. Monash University, in collaboration with Curtin University, used data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics and the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, to reveal the future burden of conditions, such as arthritis, back problems and osteoporosis in WA. The findings have prompted the researchers to call on the WA Government to prioritise the painful disorders, warning that future patients would face long waiting lists for surgery and to see medical specialists. The chronic disorders can all cause disability, reduced participation in activities and a lower quality of life. By 2045, the number of West Australians living with arthritis is projected to increase to more than 609,000, that’s 177,000 more people than in 2025. Those with long-term back problems are expected to rise to almost 600,000 people, an extra 135,000 people on this year. Osteoporosis is also forecast to increase among more than 152,000 West Australians, almost 52,000 more people than currently living with the condition. The report also found the greatest burden of musculoskeletal issues would be experienced by women. Curtin University co-author Andrew Briggs said the dramatic increase in patients over the next 20 years would create issues with access to care, especially for those living in more remote areas. “The rapid increase in cases will likely see demand exceed capacity and that will have implications largely for people in the public service, including outpatient clinics, waiting lists for surgery, and, in particular, seeing specialist doctors like rheumatologists, where the wait lists are already quite long,” he said. “Unless we have dedicated planning to build our workforce numbers, that’s going to create access problems for patients.” Rheumatology — the medical speciality that diagnoses and treats musculoskeletal diseases — is already experiencing a shortfall of 35 specialists. Only 31 rheumatologists were working in WA, as of 2023. Mr Briggs called for more State Government funding and improved policy to better treat patients with these chronic conditions. The increase in musculoskeletal disorders will also hit the health budget. The direct cost to the WA Government through public hospital activities is forecast to increase from $131 million in 2025 to $269m in 2045. Annual health expenditure for musculoskeletal diseases is forecast to exceed $2.25 billion in 2045. “If we are spending the lion’s share on hospital admissions that might suggest we could reallocate some resourcing back to primary care and prevention,” Professor Briggs said. “The report is about trying to evolve policy so that musculoskeletal conditions are included, because often they’re left out, because the focus is typically on conditions that kill you, like cancer. “If we can evolve policy to include musculoskeletal health as a real priority then the necessary planning can take place to meet demand around workforce, resourcing, and wait lists.” Monash University musculoskeletal health unit deputy director Ilana Ackerman also called on more funding for research. “The amount of money that’s going to research in this area is really low compared to what we see in other health conditions so we really want to see more investment in research so that we can be delivering the best, effective care to people,” she said.