Osteoarthritis Raises Risk of Other Chronic Health Conditions
By Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
WEDNESDAY, July 10, 2024 -- Osteoarthritis could nearly triple a person’s risk of developing a multitude of other chronic illnesses, a new two-decade study finds.
People with osteoarthritis (OA) -- where cartilage breaks down, allowing bones to rub against each other -- tend to develop multiple other health problems as the years progress, researchers found.
These other chronic illnesses can include heart disease, diabetes, mood disorders, cancer and diseases of the kidneys, liver, lungs and other organs, according to a report published recently in the journal RMD Open.
“Our findings suggest that individuals with OA face an almost threefold higher risk of developing severe multimorbidity,” concluded the research team led by Andrea Dell’isola, an associate professor at Lund University in Sweden.
For the study, researchers analyzed medical data for nearly 10,000 residents from the Skane region in the south of Sweden diagnosed with osteoarthritis between 2008 and 2009.
Each of these OA patients was matched with two people of the same age and sex without osteoarthritis, so their health patterns could be tracked and compared.
Researchers found that people who were likely to become sickest as they aged tended to have osteoarthritis.
About 42% of people who developed the most chronic illnesses had OA, compared with 29% of those with the fewest.
Overall, OA increased a person’s risk of being in the sickest group by about two-and-a-half times, researchers said.
The effects of OA on lifestyle and health could potentially explain this increased risk, researchers said.
People with arthritis are less likely to engage in physical activity, and are more likely to suffer chronic low-grade inflammation. Combined with a high-calorie diet, these factors could increase a person’s risk for many different diseases, researchers said.
The sickest people in the study had the most disability, “suggesting that individuals with OA … are more likely to experience a higher level of disability than those without OA,” the researchers wrote.
Sources
- BMJ Group, news release, July 9, 2024
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Posted July 2024
Read this next
Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton Tears Achilles in Game 7 of NBA Finals
WEDNESDAY, June 25, 2025 — Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton tore his right Achilles tendon during the team’s loss in Game 7 of the NBA Finals, the team...
Insurers Promise to Speed Up Delays in Health Care Approvals
WEDNESDAY, June 25, 2025 — Getting approval from your insurance company before a procedure or treatment may soon get a little easier. U.S. Health and Human Services...
Monthly Obesity Shot, MariTide, Shows Big Weight Loss in Trial
WEDNESDAY, June 25, 2025 — Alternatives to weekly injections of weight-loss drugs may on the way. A monthly dose of a new drug called MariTide helped participants in a...
More news resources
- FDA Medwatch Drug Alerts
- Daily MedNews
- News for Health Professionals
- New Drug Approvals
- New Drug Applications
- Drug Shortages
- Clinical Trial Results
- Generic Drug Approvals
Subscribe to our newsletter
Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.