In 2023, 30.7% of Louisianans were living with a diagnosis of arthritis, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, significantly higher than the U.S. average at 26.3%.

Arthritis encompasses over 100 conditions that affect the tissues surrounding joints, most commonly in the wrists, hands, knees, hips, feet, ankles, shoulders and the lower back.

The inflammatory disease is common as the body ages. The percentage of American adults with arthritis increases from 3.6% in adults aged 18 to 36 to 53.9% of adults age 75 and older.

Louisiana had the 6th-highest percentage of adults with arthritis in 2023, proceeded by West Virginia with the highest percentage of arthritis at 39.67%, then Tennessee at 33.17% and Maine at 32.68%.

These parishes had the hi

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