Table 1 Inclusion and exclusion criteria

· Original observational studies or reports; primarily cross-sectional and cohort studies

· If more than one article presenting results from the same study existed then only the most relevant article was included.

· Studies reporting results specifically on people aged 60 and over

· No reviews, experimental or clinical trials, or studies with subsample of the original study sample, unless it is still a representative sample and reports new relevant information

· Representative of the general population (study samples from nursing homes, etc. are accepted)

· No working populations

· Only following musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions: 1)Non-specific extremity MSK 2)Back pain (+ divided by region) 3)Osteoarthritis in larger joints of the extremities (i.e. shoulder, elbow, hand/wrist, hip, knee, ankle/foot) 4) Rheumatoid arthritis 5) Osteoporosis

· No native/aboriginal populations

· Studies from developed countries only (e.g. countries with “advanced economies” according to IMF)

· Studies reporting general MSK pain with no specific anatomical area

· Any type of prevalence/incidence

· No traumatic related injuries

· Prevalence/incidence estimates specifically on people aged 60 and over

· No secondary MSK conditions (i.e. osteoporotic fractures)

· In studies with results from more than one period/survey, only the latest

· No combined anatomical sites (e.g. neck + shoulder pain), except for back pain which is usually low back pain.

· year was included

· No OA in minor joints (such as in a single phalanx joint, facet joints, etc.)

· Indirect/weighted/adjusted prevalence estimates.