Research from L.M. Verweij and co-researchers provides new data on arthritis.(Clinical report)

In this recently published article, scientists in Netherlands conducted a study "To study the relationship between 4 components of physical activity and the 12-year incidence of clinical knee osteoarthritis (OA) among older adults. Longitudinal data from 1,678 men and women, ages 55-85 years, were collected in the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam."

"Incident clinical knee OA was defined by an algorithm using self-report and general practitioner data. Physical activity was assessed by a validated questionnaire from which 4 physical activity component scores were created: muscle strength, intensity, mechanical strain, and turning actions. Cox proportional hazards models were conducted to examine the relationship between these scores and incident knee OA and reported as hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs). During 12 years of followup, 463 respondents (28%) developed clinical knee OA. A high mechanical strain score (HR 1.43, 95% CI 1.15-1.77) and a low muscle strength score (HR 1.30, 95% CI 1.01-1.68) were associated with an increased risk of knee OA after adjustment for age, sex, region of living, education, lifetime physical work demands, lifetime general physical activity, body mass index, current total physical activity level, and depression. No association was observed in ...