An estimated 58.5 percent of U.S. adults with diagnosed arthritis, roughly 30.8 million people, reported moderate to severe joint pain in 2023, according to a new analysis of federal survey data. The figure breaks down into 32.4 percent reporting moderate pain (about 17.1 million adults) and 26.1 percent reporting severe pain (about 13.8 million).
The number carries an explicit policy comparison. The federal Healthy People arthritis objective set a target of reducing that share to 52.4 percent, from a national baseline of 55.6 percent in 2019. The 2023 result moves in the wrong direction.
