Higher weight increased risk for arthritis

the Los Angeles Times (7/14) Booster Shots blog, Jeannine Stein observed that, according to a study published in the August issue of the journal Radiology, being overweight "can be bad for the cartilage in your knees." Researchers from Boston University examined "data from the Multicenter Osteoarthritis Study of 3,026 people 50 to 79 who were at risk for osteoarthritis or had early evidence of the disease," focusing on "347 knees in 336 patients with an average BMI of 29.5." At study start, "most knees did not show evidence of tibiofemoral osteoarthritis," but after 30 months, "20 percent showed slow cartilage loss, and almost six percent showed rapid cartilage loss." Notably, "the only demographic feature that predicted rapid cartilage loss was having a high BMI at the start of the study."

"In fact, for every one-unit increase in body mass index, the chances of rapid cartilage loss increased 11 percent," HealthDay (7/14, Reinberg) reported. Moreover, the "association between obesity and rapid cartilage loss remained even after taking into account age, gender, and ethnic background." Study author Frank W. Roemer, MD, concluded, "We know that weight loss is probably the most important factor to slow disease progression." He added, "Osteoarthritis is the most common musculoskeletal disorder with major health and socioeconomic impact in our aging society."