Health care

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative disease that affects weight-bearing joints. The knees, hips, spine, and small joints of the hands are most commonly affected. Two out of three people over age 50 have joints that creak and creak, causing daily pain and limiting mobility. 

Finding and treating people with undiagnosed asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has improved their health and reduced the number of visits to health care for respiratory symptoms.

Patients who had an initial consultation with a female gastroenterologist were less likely to use health care services in the emergency room, hospital, or primary care office within two years of the visit compared with patients who initially consulted with male gastroenterologists.

According to the study, between 2000 and 2021 there was a 49.4% increase in the number of global DALYs, or disability-adjusted life years (years of healthy life lost due to ill health and premature death), that are associated with metabolic risk factors.