These diseases have a substantial influence on health and quality of life, and they inflict an enormous cost on health systems. Rheumatic diseases include more than 150 different diseases and syndromes, with the common denominators of pain and inflammation. Rheumatic diseases are a serious disease burden. An estimated 1.7 million hip fractures only occurred in 1990 throughout the world. This number is expected to exceed 6 million by 2050.
Osteoporotic fractures account for most of the morbidity, mortality and costs of the disease.
Surveys involving several developing countries, such as Brazil, Chile, China, Pakistan, the Philippines, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico and Thailand provided valuable information on the magnitude of the problem. It showed that the burden of rheumatic diseases is practically equal to that in the industrialized world. Critical to this lack of appreciation is an information deficit. Since then, a community-oriented programme for the control of rheumatic diseases was initiated jointly by WHO and the International League of Associations for Rheumatology. This programme s achievements are considerable, but the challenges for the future are greater still.