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Objectives and questions: Hospitals generate vast quantities of data, yet an estimated 97% of data generated remains unused according to the World Economic Forum. Real-world clinical data can nonetheless reveal valuable insights into disease trends, patient demographics, and outcomes. Thus, the objective of this study is to utilize such data to investigate trends in the prevalence of coxarthrosis and gonarthrosis diagnoses and the associated patient age at diagnosis over a 24-year period.

Material and methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis using real-world clinical data extracted from the electronic health record (EHR) system of a university hospital’s orthopedics department, covering a 24-year period (2000–2024). Data preprocessing included handling duplicate and missing values, and diagnoses for coxarthrosis (ICD codes M16.0–M16.9) and gonarthrosis (M17.0–M17.9) were aggregated to address mapping inconsistencies. We recorded the annual incidence of diagnoses and the average patient age at diagnosis. Prevalence trends were visualized using area charts, while age distribution trends were represented with line graphs. To capture underlying patterns, polynomial regression models were applied (3^rd-degree for coxarthrosis, 2^nd-degree for gonarthrosis).

Results: After excluding diagnoses missing a date (0.01%) or a diagnosis key (3.79%), the final dataset comprised 50,124 patient encounters, including 416 with both diagnoses (Table 1 [Tab. 1]).

As presented in Figure 1 [Abb. 1], the prevalence of coxarthrosis diagnoses showed a spike in the early 2000s, followed by fluctuations in subsequent years. A decline in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic was followed by an upward trend in recent years. The prevalence of gonarthrosis diagnosis followed a rather linear upward trend, with a sharp increase starting in 2021 after a decline during the COVID-19 pandemic. The average age at time of diagnosis for M16 diagnoses increased by 13.57% (58.14 in 2000 to 66.03 years in 2024), while the average age for M17 diagnosis showed a slight increase of 3.00% (65.03 to 66.98 years).

Discussion and conclusions: Both coxarthrosis and gonarthrosis exhibited an increasing prevalence alongside a rise in the patient age at the time of diagnosis. The observed increase may reflect broader trends such as an aging population, sedentary lifestyle, or improved diagnostics. However, as a single-center study, further research is needed to determine generalizability. Additionally, variations in diagnostic practices or EHR recording procedures may influence prevalence rates. To understand the drivers of these observed trends and develop prevention and management strategies for osteoarthritis, further investigation is essential.