Peer Reviewed: The Association Between Body Mass Index and Arthritis Among US Adults: CDC’s Surveillance Case Definition

Introduction The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention modified the surveillance case definition of arthritis to a more stringent form in 2002. To date, the association between arthritis and obesity (an established risk factor for arthritis) has not been examined with the new definition. We describe the association between body mass index (BMI) (kg/m2) and arthritis using the new arthritis case definition to provide a more accurate assessment of the relationship between weight and arthritis among US adults.