Osteoarthritis is a common joint disease that makes it painful and harder to move. It happens when the cartilage—the smooth layer that protects the ends of bones—wears down over time.
Without this layer, the bones rub against each other, leading to pain, stiffness, and swelling.
This condition affects over 500 million people around the world, mostly older adults. While many people know osteoarthritis as a problem with joints, new research shows it may lead to other serious health problems too.
A long-term study has found that people with osteoarthritis are more likely to develop other lasting illnesses, such as heart disease, diabetes, or lung problems. Having several long-term illnesses at once is called “multimorbidity.” The study shows that osteoarthritis may double the chance of getting multiple health problems more quickly.
To explore this, researchers looked at health records from a large region in Sweden called Skåne, with about 1.4 million people.
They studied 9,846 people over the age of 40 who were newly diagnosed with osteoarthritis in 2008 or 2009. Most of them were around 66 years old, and over half were women. These people were compared with 19,692 others of the same age and sex who didn’t have osteoarthritis.
The researchers tracked both groups from 1998 to 2019 to see how many other illnesses they developed. They found that people with osteoarthritis often ended up with more health issues over time.
The participants were sorted into four groups depending on how fast their health worsened. People in the first group had only a few minor health problems, and they appeared slowly.
The second group also had mild issues, but they showed up earlier. The third group had a moderate number of problems. The fourth group had the most health issues—an average of 10 different conditions—and more than half of them had died by the end of the study.
At the start of the study, almost everyone was in good health. But by the end, big differences appeared. People with osteoarthritis were over twice as likely to end up in the group with the worst health outcomes and highest death rate.
This shows that osteoarthritis may be more than just a joint issue. It might be a sign that more serious health problems are coming. Getting older naturally brings more health challenges, but osteoarthritis seems to speed this up.
Why might this happen? One reason could be that joint pain makes people move less, which can lead to weight gain and other problems like high blood pressure. Also, the long-term inflammation caused by osteoarthritis can damage other parts of the body. Poor diet and eating too many calories may also make things worse.
It’s important to know that this study didn’t test treatments or lifestyle changes. It simply looked at health records over time. So, it can’t prove that osteoarthritis causes these other diseases. It also didn’t include details about things like diet, exercise, or weight, which are important for health.
Still, the findings are important. They suggest that taking care of osteoarthritis may help people avoid other serious conditions. Staying active, eating healthy food, and reducing inflammation could help people with osteoarthritis stay healthier overall.
In short, osteoarthritis isn’t just about sore joints. It might be part of a bigger health picture. By paying attention to early signs and making healthy choices, people may protect their whole body—not just their joints.
If you care about pain, please read studies about vitamin K deficiency linked to hip fractures in old people, and these vitamins could help reduce bone fracture risk.
For more information about wellness, please see recent studies that Krill oil could improve muscle health in older people, and eating yogurt linked to lower frailty in older people.
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