Imma Perfetto
Cosmos science journalist
Osteoarthritis is increasingly impacting the health of post-menopausal women around the globe, highlighting an urgent need to address the issue with public health measures.
New research has found that the number of osteoarthritis cases among post-menopausal women, and disability associated with the condition, have increased by more than 130% over the past 30 years.
The study is published in the BMJ Global Health.
In 2020, an estimated 595 million people were living with osteoarthritis worldwide.
“Osteoarthritis is a prevalent, progressively developing joint disorder that notably affects middle-aged and older individuals, substantially impacting their quality of life and ability to perform daily activities,” the study authors write.
Postmenopausal women are considered a high-risk group for osteoarthritis. According to the researchers, this is due to physiological changes that are associated with menopause, including hormonal fluctuations, and other factors such as age-related joint degeneration, and heightened pain sensitivity.
Despite this, the global impact of osteoarthritis on postmenopausal women has not been investigated until now.
To do so, the research team drew on data collected from 204 countries and territories between 1990-2021 for The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2021 study. They analysed the rates of new and existing cases of osteoarthritis, as well as healthy years lost to living with disability from the disease, known as disability-adjusted life years (DALYs).
Excess weight, a key risk factor of osteoarthritis defined here as high body mass index (BMI), was found to significantly influence the burden of osteoarthritis and accounted for 20% of the total DALYs.
The findings also revealed that while rates for hip and other osteoarthritis were relatively similar between men and women of the same age, women had significantly higher values for hand and knee osteoarthritis.
Specifically, the DALYs for hand osteoarthritis in 55–59-year-old women were nearly twice as high as they were in men of the same age. The authors say the finding emphasises “the need for targeted interventions during early menopause to address this unique trend.”
East Asia and high-income Asia Pacific countries also experienced the fastest growth in the condition.
The authors suggest that the trends observed in East Asia “may be linked to rapid population ageing, increased workforce participation, and a surge in obesity rates due to urbanisation and changing lifestyles.”
Whereas the high burden seen in high-income Asia Pacific countries could be due to advanced healthcare systems with better diagnostic capabilities, which facilitate more comprehensive identification and reporting of cases.
“Cultural differences, such as varying levels of physical activity and traditional dietary patterns, may also influence regional osteoarthritis prevalence and progression,” they suggest.
“This underscores the urgent need for targeted interventions and rigorous health strategies to control and manage osteoarthritis, focusing on modifiable risk factor reduction.”
