A Contemporary Assessment of the Prevalence of Chronic Diseases That Contribute to Health Care Utilization

To investigate the most prevalent diagnosed conditions contributing to health care visitations in a defined US population by age and racial group, educational level, and socioeconomic deprivation.

The Rochester Epidemiology Project is a medical records-linkage system that captures medical care provided to residents of Olmsted County, Minnesota. The Rochester Epidemiology Project was queried for all Olmsted County residents. International Classification of Diseases codes were obtained for individuals included in the project between January 1, 2014, and December 31, 2019, and they were categorized into 46 broad disease groups. Age- and sex-specific prevalences were estimated by dividing the number of individuals within each group by the corresponding population.

In total, 154,254 individuals were included, and 122,627 (65,782 [53.6%] female) had at least one diagnosis of interest. Arthritis/joint disorders and back problems (ie, musculoskeletal disorders) were the most prevalent across all ages (42%), followed by skin (40%) and anxiety/depression/bipolar disorders (24%). Lower education and a higher area deprivation index score were associated with certain modifiable chronic diseases.

Musculoskeletal diseases were the most prevalent diagnosed conditions contributing to health care visitations within a defined US population. Individual level of education and socioeconomic deprivation were associated with modifiable diseases. An emphasis on effective diagnosis and management of musculoskeletal conditions in health care delivery models and more focused preventative efforts in disadvantaged communities are imperative.