Skin, Joint, and Back Problems Prompt Most Physician Visit

 Most patients without acute conditions see their physicians not because of diabetes, heart disease, or cancer but because of skin problems, joint disorders, and back pain, according to an article published in the January 2013 issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

Spurred on by healthcare reform, the researchers sought to determine how healthcare resources were being used for non-acute conditions. They examined records between January 1, 2005, and December 31, 2009, and categorized patients according to disease group and according to International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9), codes.

“Skin disorders were the most prevalent disease group in this population,” the researchers write. “Almost half of the population (42.7%) had at least one ICD-9 code for a skin condition within approximately 5 years.” Conditions included actinic keratosis, acne, and sebaceous cysts.

After skin disorders, the most common conditions were osteoarthritis and joint disorders (33.6%), back problems (23.9%), disorders of lipid metabolism (22.4%), and upper respiratory tract disease (22.1%).

The top 10 disease groups varied in prevalence by age and ethnicity. For instance, 0- to 18-year-olds experienced the highest prevalence of skin disorders, whereas patients aged 65 years and older experienced the highest prevalence of hypertension. Blacks had a higher prevalence of back problems and headaches than whites, whites had higher prevalence of skin disorders than blacks and Asians, and Asians had a higher prevalence of diabetes than whites.

The researchers write that although skin disorders are not major drivers of disability or death, they may be “important determinants of health care utilization and cost.” “Finding that skin and back problems are major drivers of health care utilization affirms the importance of moving beyond the commonly recognized health care priorities such as diabetes, heart disease, or cancer,”

Mayo Clin Proc. 2013;88:56-67. Full text