Obesity and osteoarthritis in knee, hip and/or hand: an epidemiological study in the general population with 10 years follow-up

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of obesity on incident osteoarthritis (OA) in hip, knee, and hand in a general population followed in 10 years.  A total of 1675 people aged 24-76 years in 1994 participated in a Norwegian study on musculoskeletal pain in both 1994 and 2004. The main outcome measure was OA diagnosis at follow-up based on self-report. Obesity was defined by a body mass index (BMI) of 30 and above. At 10-years follow-up the incidence rates were 5.8% for hip OA, 7.3% for knee OA, and 5.6% for hand OA. When adjusting for age, gender, work status and leisure time activities, a high BMI (> 30) was significantly associated with knee OA. Obesity was also significantly associated with hand OA  but not with hip OA. There was no statistically significant interaction effect between BMI and gender, age or any of the other confounding variables.

A high BMI was significantly associated with knee OA and hand OA, but not with hip OA.

BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, 2008, 9, 132

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