Knee Arthritis Expected to Hit Half of Population

(September 4, 2008) - About half of us can expect to develop arthritis in our knees. (Read about "Arthritis & Rheumatic Diseases" "The Knee") A landmark government study suggests nearly one in two people (46 percent) will develop painful knee osteoarthritis (Read about "Osteoarthritis") over their lifetime, with the highest risk among those who are obese. (Read about "Obesity")

Arthritis is exploding in an aging population of U.S. baby boomers. Nearly one in five U.S. adults (46 million people) has arthritis and an estimated 67 million people will be affected by 2030.

Osteoarthritis, the most common type of arthritis, currently affects more than 27 million people in the U.S.

The study, published in the September issue of Arthritis Care & Research, was conducted using data from the Johnston County Osteoarthritis Project. It is one of the largest longitudinal studies to monitor the onset and progression of knee and hip (Read about "The Hip") osteoarthritis in this country. While there were no significant differences in risk by sex, race and education, the study found that nearly two in three people (65 percent) who are obese will develop knee osteoarthritis over their lifetime. The study also found that those with a prior knee injury had a lifetime risk of 57 percent.