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Updated: May 28, 2026
Standardized Histomorphometric Evaluation of Osteoarthritis in a Surgical Mouse Model
Published on: May 6, 2020
Direct and indirect economic costs among private-sector employees with osteoarthritis
Ariel Berger1, Craig Hartrick, John Edelsberg
1Policy Analysis, Inc, Brookline, MA 02445, USA. aberger@pai2.com
Objective:
To estimate direct and indirect economic costs among private-sector employees with osteoarthritis (OA).
Methods:
Using a large US employer benefits database, we identified all employees with evidence of OA during calendar year 2007, and compared their costs of health care and work loss to age-and-sex-matched employees without evidence of OA in that year.
Results:
Private-sector employees with OA (n = 2399) averaged 62.9 days of absenteeism versus 36.7 days among matched comparators (n = 2399) (P < 0.01). Mean total direct costs among these persons were $17,751 and $5057, respectively (P < 0.01); 34% of health care costs among persons with OA arose from medical encounters with listed diagnoses of OA. Mean total indirect costs were two-fold higher among persons with OA ($5002 versus $2120 for those without OA; P < 0.01).
Conclusions:
Private-sector employees with OA have higher direct and indirect costs than those without this condition.
