Blümel Juan E, Aedo Sócrates, Arteaga Eugenio, Vallejo María S, Chedraui Peter
Departamento de Medicina Interna Sur, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile.
Escuela de Medicina, Universidad Finis Terrae, Santiago, Chile.
Rev Med Chil. 2022 Jan;150(1):46-53. doi: 10.4067/S0034-98872022000100046.
Osteoarthritis (OA) is a health problem affecting millions of individuals worldwide.
To evaluate risk factors for hip and knee osteoarthritis (OA) in women aged 40 to 59 years.
Analysis of a prospective cohort of 1159 women attending preventive health care programs and followed during 28 years. They underwent a clinical and laboratory evaluation from 1990 to 1993. The diagnosis of OA was retrieved from registries of a special program for osteoarthritis in 2020.
Twenty four percent of participants developed osteoarthritis during the follow-up. At the beginning of the study and compared with women without OA, they were older (median [interquartile range or IQR]: 49.6 [8.5] and 47.2 [8.2] years respectively), had a higher body mass index (26.3 [5.3] and 25.1 [5.3] respectively), and a higher frequency of jobs with low qualification (76 and 62% respectively). The presence of type 2 diabetes mellitus, chronic hypertension, a previous history of alcohol or cigarette consumption, postmenopausal status and lipid and glucose blood levels did not differ between women with or without OA. Cox regression showed a final model that incorporates body mass index (hazard ratio (HR): 1.04; 95% confidence intervals (CI): 1.01-1.07), age (HR: 1.05; 95% CI: 1.03-1.08) and having an unqualified job (HR: 1.88; 95% CI: 1.43-2.47) as risk factors for OA.
Obesity and the type of job are the most relevant risk factors found for OD: both may be modified with proper care.
