Socioeconomic disparities in self-reported arthritis for Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians aged 18-64

To examine socioeconomic disparities in arthritis among non-remote Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian adults aged 18-64.

Weighted data on self-reported arthritis and several socioeconomic measures from two nationally representative surveys conducted in 2004-2005 were analysed using logistic regression.

Current diagnosed arthritis was more commonly reported by Indigenous than non-Indigenous people across all age groups. After adjusting for age and sex, arthritis was significantly more common among those of lower socioeconomic status (SES) in the non-Indigenous population for all SES variables examined. In the Indigenous population, associations between SES and arthritis were significant for household income and employment status, but not for education, post-school qualifications, home ownership, area-level disadvantage, or area of residence.

The SES disparities were less consistent in the Indigenous than the non-Indigenous population, and within the Indigenous population, they were less consistent for arthritis than those previously reported for diabetes among the same survey participants. Although some of the differences may be due to self-reporting of disease, these findings also suggest the potential salience of factors occurring across the SES spectrum, especially among Indigenous Australians.