Early-onset osteoarthritis cases have doubled globally since 1990
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Key takeaways:
- Early-onset OA grew 195.16% in incidence and 200.97% in prevalence from 1990 to 2019.
- The rise of OA in younger people will likely continue with the rise in overweight and obesity in that population, the researchers wrote.
Incident cases of early-onset osteoarthritis have doubled globally over the last 3 decades, with the proportion of years lived with disability attributable to high BMI rising from 9.41% to 15.29%, according to data.
“Osteoarthritis is a leading cause of disability worldwide and is often considered as a condition of older people,” Qianlin Weng, of Xiangya Hospital at Central South University in China, and colleagues wrote in Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. “However, there is a growing appreciation that young and middle-aged adults may also be affected.
“Previous studies of early-onset OA have focused mainly on sports or traffic-related injuries and occupational activities,” they added. “However, overweight and obesity merits more attention since it is a significant and potentially modifiable risk factor for OA, and its global prevalence has tripled in young and middle-aged adults over the past decades.”
To analyze these trends, Weng and colleagues examined data from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019 covering 204 countries and territories. Their study included patients with early-onset OA, defined as occurring in those aged 30 to 54 years, in any joint. The researchers gathered data on OA incidence and prevalence and estimated the years lived with disability due to early-onset OA.
OA burden attributable to high BMI, defined as 25 kg/m2 or greater, was calculated by multiplying the total years lived with disability by the “population attributable fraction, which represents the proportion of [years lived with disability] that would be attenuated in a given population and time if the exposure to the risk factor was at the theoretical minimum-risk exposure level,” the researchers wrote.
Between 1990 and 2019, early-onset OA increased 195.16% in incidence, 200.97% in prevalence and 201.79% in years lived with disability, according to the researchers. Years lived with disability attributable to high BMI in early-onset OA rose 1.62 times from 1990 to 2019, from 9.41% to 15.29%.
Using public data, Weng and colleagues estimated $46.17 billion in direct health care expenditures, as well as $60.7 billion in indirect productivity losses, due to early-onset OA in the United States.
“Early-onset OA is a global health problem, leading to substantial disease burdens and economic costs,” Weng and colleagues wrote. “This trend is expected to continue with the rise in overweight and obesity among young and middle-aged adults. The findings show that OA is no longer a disease confined to older people but is increasingly affecting younger people at productive ages. Effective strategies for prevention at a young age are required.”
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