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Ground-breaking initiative:
Canadian Arthritis Network surveys public on future arthritis research priorities
Vancouver, BC and Toronto, ON (April 25, 2007) –
The Canadian Arthritis Network (CAN) and Arthritis Consumer Experts (ACE)
are calling on people with arthritis and the public to tell them what areas
of research are of greatest importance to them by launching the “Help
the Canadian Arthritis Network Create a World Without Arthritis” Survey.
“As the first federally funded research institute
focusing solely on arthritis, the CAN is fully committed to developing its
future program and activities on the needs of Canadians with arthritis –
as defined by them,” says Dr. John Esdaile, Scientific Director and
CEO of the CAN. “Since its inception, the CAN has benefited from the
direct involvement and leadership of people of all walks and ages of life
living with some form of arthritis. By volunteering side-by-side with CAN
researchers and participating in the CAN’s governance, people with
arthritis have revolutionized health research, not only in Canada but around
the world. It is a model for how to make health research truly relevant
to those it is supposed to serve.
Anne Fouillard, co-chair of the CAN’s Consumer Advisory
Council and person living with osteoarthritis, says that surveying the public
about what areas of research to fund is at a critical juncture:
“The CAN has only five more years of federal funding
left and wants to ensure that it continues to research areas of greatest
importance to people living with arthritis. The CAN research must be relevant,
and the organization needs to find ways to sustain itself beyond the end
of its federal funding in 2012. We want millions of people with arthritis,
their families and those interested in the disease responding to the Survey
– it’s a key piece in planning the CAN’s future.”
There are 4.5 million Canadians living with the disease1
, yet arthritis research in Canada receives only about two percent of all
federal health research funding. The burden of the disease on the health
care system is estimated to be $18 billion annually – one of the largest
cost drivers in the health care system today.
“Federal and provincial governments have yet to appropriately
recognize arthritis and research into it in the way it has HIV/AIDS, cancer,
diabetes, among other well-funded disease areas,” says Cheryl Koehn,
president of ACE and a person living with rheumatoid arthritis. “A
number of types of arthritis – there are over 100 – kill as
effectively as cancer and HIV/AIDS. This inequity must be addressed, and
we’re asking Canadians with arthritis and the public to be a part
of the solution. We feel the future of arthritis research is in their hands.”
“Increased research funding into the root causes
of arthritis and its treatment can change the bleak picture we see before
us,” says Dr. Esdaile, “but we need to make certain that research
is adequately funded and addresses the needs of Canadians living with the
disease and the millions of people who are going to get it over the next
three decades.”
To take the “Help the Canadian Arthritis
Network Create a World Without Arthritis” Survey, visit www.arthritissurvey.org.
The future of arthritis research in Canada is in your hands.
The CAN is funded by the Networks of Centres of Excellence
program, a federal health research initiative. The CAN’s membership
includes 168 clinical researchers and scientists from universities and institutions
across Canada. They are world leaders in innovative multi-disciplinary arthritis
research. www.arthritisnetwork.ca
Arthritis Consumer Experts is a national grassroots
organization led by people living with over 100 different types of arthritis.
They conduct evidence-based education workshops and publications (JointHealth™
monthly, JointHealth™ express and JointHealth™ podcasts). Their
work is free to the public through unrestricted grants from private and
public sector organizations. www.arthritisconsumerexperts.org
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For additional information or interview opportunities,
contact:
Quincey Kirschner, Arthritis Consumer Experts
604-974-1366
kirschner@arthritisconsumerexperts.org
Anne Fouillard, Co-chair, Canadian Arthritis Network -
Consumer Advisory Council
(902) 766-0104
afouillard@bwr.eastlink.ca
Dr. John Esdaile, Scientific Director and CEO, Canadian
Arthritis Network
jesdaile@arthritisresearch.ca
Cheryl Koehn, President, Arthritis Consumer Experts
koehn@arthritisconsumerexperts.org
Additional Background Information
Arthritis Facts and Figures
What is arthritis
- Arthritis is a disease that causes joint inflammation affecting the
lives of over 4 millions Canadians and their families.
- It is estimated that, by 2016, over 6 million Canadians will be living
with arthritis
- Arthritis is the leading cause of deformity and long-term disability
in Canada
- In 1998, arthritis or related conditions were the underlying cause in
2.4 deaths per 100,000 in Canada, making arthritis a more common underlying
cause of death than melanoma, asthma or HIV/AIDS—especially among
women.
What arthritis costs Canada
- One of the major reasons why people over 65 years of age visit
their family physician.
- Arthritis and its related conditions cost $17.8 billion annually
and costs are rising (ICES 2004).
- Long-term disability accounted for almost 80% of the economic
costs of arthritis in 1998, at nearly $3.4 billion; the 35-64 year age
group incurred 70% of these costs.
- The economic burden of musculoskeletal conditions in Canada
accounted for 10.3% of the total economic burden of illness but only 1.3%
of health science research.
How arthritis affects wait times
- Arthritis is the cause of 80 -90% of wait lists for joint replacement.
- Wait times related to joint replacement exceed all other waiting
times in Canada.
- Joint replacements are being done at earlier ages and this increases
the potential that a second replacement will be needed.
Arthritis in Aboriginal Canadians
- Overall, 19% of Aboriginal people reported having arthritis—equivalent
to 27% if the Aboriginal population had the same age composition as the
overall Canadian population.
The impact of rheumatoid arthritis compared to
breast cancer
- By examining British Columbia Ministry of Health data2 ,
Dr. Diane Lacaille of the Arthritis Research Centre of Canada, learned
that new cases of rheumatoid arthritis, a serious, disabling and life-threatening
disease, rose throughout the 1990’s.
- Based on current demographics, the incidence of rheumatoid arthritis
is growing; the rate of permanent disability is rising, as is the incidence
of co-morbidities resulting in death.
- This alarming trend is due in part to significant delays in access
to diagnosis and specialist care, and highly restricted access to the
latest treatments targeted at the molecules that promote inflammation
(like they mass to create a cancer tumour) and destroys joints and other
vital organs such as the lungs, eyes and heart. These failings are a direct
result of insufficient research funding into this type, and dozens of
other types of arthritis disease.
- In comparison, the Canadian Cancer Society in BC web site3
reports that in general, incidence and death rates for the majority of
cancer sites have stabilized or declined during the past decade.
- Breast cancer death rates have declined in all ages combined and in
every age group since at least the mid 1990s.4
- Incidence and death rates for breast cancer have declined since 1969
in women aged 20-39.5
- These advances are a result of the development of new, tumor targeted
therapies and timely access to all types of treatments, including specialist
care. But the very foundation of these advancements came from significant
investment in breast cancer research.
1Arthritis Community Research and Evaluation Unit. The Burden of Arthritis
in Canada: 2005 Estimates. ACREU Arthritis Update 2007. Apr. 1(1).
2Lacaille, D. Arthritis Research Centre of Canada
3Canada-wide trends in incidence and death. Canadian Cancer Society;2007.
http://www.bc.cancer.ca/ccs/internet/standard/0,3182,3278_14435__langId-en,00.html.
[Accessed April 18, 2007]
4Canada-wide trends in incidence and death. Canadian Cancer Society;2007.
http://www.bc.cancer.ca/ccs/internet/standard/0,3182,3278_14435__langId-en,00.html.
[Accessed April 18, 2007]
5Canada-wide trends in incidence and death. Canadian Cancer Society;2007.
http://www.bc.cancer.ca/ccs/internet/standard/0,3182,3278_14435__langId-en,00.html.
[Accessed April 18, 2007]
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