Does Osteoarthritis pose a risk of developing other long-term conditions?
Full reference: Swain S., Coupland C., Mallen C., Kuo C.F., Sarmanova A., Bierma-Zeinstra S.M.A., Englund M., Prieto-Alhambra D., Doherty M., Zhang W., Temporal relationship between osteoarthritis and comorbidities: a combined case control and cohort study in the UK primary care setting, Rheumatology, 2021;, keab067, https://doi.org/10.1093/rheumatology/keab067
Abstract
Osteoarthritis is a long term joint problem, mostly prevalent among the elderly population. However, any association of osteoarthritis with other long-term conditions has not been studied in detail.
The study presented here found, people with osteoarthritis are more at risk of developing two or more additional long term conditions. Forty specific long-term conditions such as problems related to heart, gut, bone and joint, and mental health were seen to be associated with osteoarthritis.
Background
One in four people aged 55 years old or more in the UK have pain associated with osteoarthritis (OA) and many of them have long-term widespread pain and some additional long-term health conditions. However, the extent of the association with many long-term conditions are not known. Also, it is not clear whether OA is preceded by other long-term conditions or vice-versa. The absence of this knowledge has caused problems for the management of OA as some treatments may add further burden to OA itself or other diseases.
What we wanted to examine
Therefore, this study aimed to explore the association of OA with other long term conditions using health data from the UK.
How this study was carried out
We identified 221,807 people with OA and 221,807 people without OA with same sex, and similar age. Long term conditions recorded by the doctors were used for the analysis with respect to the first recording of OA. We also explored the association of people with OA and development of two or more long-term conditions.
What the study found
Problems related to bone and joint, gut, heart and mental health were more associated with OA. Out of 49 long-term conditions examined, 40 were associated with OA. People with OA had higher risk of developing specific problems such as, heart diseases, dementia, liver diseases, bowel problem, stomach ulcer, and 25 other conditions following OA diagnosis. There was nearly 1.3 times higher risk of development of two or more chronic conditions in an individual with OA.
Significant of the study to arthritis research
People with OA are more likely to have other long-term conditions both before and after the OA diagnosis. Better understanding of the association and risk of developing these long-term conditions would help in developing more personalised and effective treatments.