Knee Replacement Rate Nearly Doubles in US From 2000 to 2010

In 2010, an estimated 693,400 total knee replacements were performed in adults aged 45 years and older, according to a new data brief from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS).

In 2010 (and 2009 and 2008 as well), total knee arthroplasty was the most frequently performed inpatient procedure in this age group, report Sonja N. Williams and colleagues from the NCHS Division of Health Statistics.

They determined trends in total knee replacement in adults aged 45 and older by analyzing data from the National Hospital Discharge Survey for the period 2000 to 2010.

During the 11-year period, an estimated 5.2 million total knee replacements were performed, and adults aged 45 and older made up 98.1% of those surgeries, they found.

More Common in Women

The rate of total knee replacement nearly doubled for men and women during the study period. Among men, the rate increased from 24.3 per 10,000 population in 2000 to 45.3 in 2010 (an 86% increase). Among women, the rate increased from 33.0 to 65.5 per 10,000 (a 99% increase).

On average, the rate of total knee replacement was 50% higher in women than men for each year from 2000 through 2010.

In both 2000 and 2010, women aged 45 to 64 years had higher rates of total knee replacements (16.4 and 46.6 per 10,000, respectively) than men (8.7 and 28.6, respectively). In the over-65 age bracket, women also had a higher rate of total knee replacement than men (99.3 vs 82.6 per 10,000), but only in 2010.

For both men and women, those aged 65 and over had higher rates of knee replacement than those aged 45 to 64 in both 2000 and 2010 (58.0 and 92.1, respectively, for 65 years and older compared with 12.7 and 37.8 for 45 to 64 years).

From 2000 to 2010, the average age of adults having a knee replaced dropped significantly (by 3.9%), from 68.9 to 66.2 years. Among men, the mean age fell from 69.3 to 66.5 years, and among women, from 68.7 to 66.0 years, the researchers report.

Following knee surgery, most adults were discharged home, but the percentage was lower for women in both 2000 and 2010 (40.8% and 54.1%, respectively) than for men (53.5% and 69.8%). More women than men were discharged to a long-term care facility compared with the men, the data show.