More men and younger patients are undergoing joint replacement surgery, but certain ethnicities remain under-represented, the Atlanta Business Journal reports, based on a 2018 study.
Three trends to note:
1. In 2000, 42 percent of total hip replacement patients were male, compared to 45 percent in 2014. The number of male patients undergoing total knee replacement also increased, from 37 percent in 2000 to 38 percent in 2014.
2. The average joint replacement patient was 65 years old in 2018, down from 66 in 2017. The average age for knee replacements dipped from 68 in 2017 to 66 in 2018. More younger patients with arthritis are willing to undergo replacement surgery, Marietta, Ga.-based Pinnacle Orthopedics Partner O. Scott Swayze, MD, told the Atlanta Business Journal.
3. Non-Hispanic whites comprised the vast majority of total joint arthroplasty patients between 2000 and 2014, followed by African Americans. Asians and Hispanics were under-represented, researchers said.