OA linked to higher risk of death from cardiovascular disease

Researchers from Lund University in Sweden have studied the link between osteoarthritis and mortality in the context of an epidemiological study. It has been shown that the risk of death from cardiovascular disease is higher in people with osteoarthritis than in the rest of the population.

Using population registers, the researchers studied approximately 469,000 Skåne residents in Sweden aged 45 to 84 in 2003 and followed them until 2014. The group included 16,000 patients with diabetes. Knee arthritis, 9,000 with hip arthritis, 4,000 with wrist arthritis and 5,500 with other forms of osteoarthritis. They had all been diagnosed in 2003 or earlier.

"We examined the causes of death of those who died between 2004 and 2014 and had previously been diagnosed with osteoarthritis, and compared the results with those of the rest of the population in the same region. The groups were not different with respect to most causes of death, but we found that the risk of mortality from cardiovascular disease was higher for those who had been diagnosed with osteoarthritis. The risk did not increase in the short term after the diagnosis of osteoarthritis, but the longer a person had osteoarthritis for a long time, the higher the risk of mortality from cardiovascular disease was high compared to the population of basis, e.g. if a person had been diagnosed with knee arthritis for 9 to 11 years, the risk was 16% higherSays Martin Englund, a professor at Lund University and a doctor at Skåne University Hospital, who led the study.

This means that for every 100,000 inhabitants who have osteoarthritis for 9-11 years, 40 more people die each year from cardiovascular disease, compared to the population without osteoarthritis (with a corresponding bad and age distribution). ).

The study has not studied the mechanisms of osteoarthritis and cardiovascular disease and the causal link is not completely known. However, Martin Englund has a theory about the reason behind the results.

"Osteoarthritis causes pain that makes people not as mobile and become sedentary. Thus, there is a risk of weight gain which, we know, leads to secondary diseases, including cardiovascular diseases. There are also other basic factors common to osteoarthritis and cardiovascular disease. Inflammation can be a contributing cause of osteoarthritis and can also lead to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Whatever it is, it is important to be physically active and to control one's weight. In many countries, there are special education programs for people with osteoarthritis, in which you can get information about the disease, as well as help and advice on the disease. 39; exercise.", concludes Martin Englund.

Reference

Turkiewicz A et al. Cause mortality in osteoarthritis of the peripheral joints. Cartilage osteoarthritis 2019; 27 (6): 848 DOI: 10.1016 / j.joca.2019.02.793