Risk Factors Of Osteoarthritis

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[edit] Risk Factors Of Osteoarthritis

There are certain subpopulations who are more vulnerable to develop osteoarthritis than others. Women tend to develop more severe degenerative arthritis on X-ray than men as a group. They also tend to develop more osteoarthritis of the hands and knees. There are ethnic differences in that Caucasian origin people develop osteoarthritis more commonly, but it is very uncommon in Asian or black populations.

These differences are of a genetic nature rather than environmental (see Ref. 2, p. 29). There is an age dependent increase of frequency of being affected with osteoarthritis, with symptoms getting symptomatic around age 45 and peaking at about age 65. There seems to be a plateau beyond the age of 70, perhaps because of less mobility.

There are biomechanical factors such as obesity, which is a clear risk factor for weight dependent joints like hips and knees. Malalignment problems such as genu valgus (knock-knees) or genu varus (bowleggedness) are also associated with development of premature osteoarthritis of the knee.

There are some cases where deposits of calcium crystals, such as calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate (CPPD) and basic calcium phosphate(BCP), are deposited in joints.

CPPD deposits are often present in severe knee joint osteoarthritis in elderly women and if proven by joint aspiration may be the first sign that the person has pseudogout. If BCP is found, this explains a severe destructive form of osteoarthritis and this has been described in elderly women as the "Milwaukee shoulder" (Ref. 1, p. 465). The BCP crystals cause the lining of the joint to release inflammatory prostaglandins and cells, which leads to joint destruction.

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References:

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