Age is deformed, youth unkind,

We scorn their bodies, they our mind.

Thomas Bastard, 1566-1618

There is a universal acceptance in the Western world that age and arthritis are inextricably associated and that both will steam on, leaving our youthful minds wallowing in their wake. However, the danger in accepting this as a fact of life is that relatively less importance is attached to arthritis in older people, despite the often enormous impact this group of conditions may have on them. In addition, the changing demography of the Western world ensures that ever greater numbers will be afflicted by arthritis, not only due to disease arising de novo but also to the carry-through effect.