What is osteoarthritis?
Osteoarthritis is a degenerative disease, characterised by the degradation of cartilage and tissue surrounding the joints. Around one in five adults over the age of 45 suffer from osteoarthritis and are bothered by pains and limitations in their daily lives.
Even through osteoarthritis affect a large number of people, the cause remains unclear. It is believed that age, obesity, and strenuous physical activity can be risk factors.
How can the correlation be explained?
Ageing and obesity bring on metabolic changes in the body, affecting the equilibrium between bone growth and degradation. It has long been expected that the metabolism of fat had an influence on the development of osteoarthritis, but the correlation had not yet been studied. Now, a team of scientists have done so and has published the results.
Cholesterol affects the risk
The results of the study revealed that about 40 % of the random participants, whom suffer from pain in the knees, had osteoarthritis in the knee. It was possible to prove a correlation between the metabolism of fat and knee issues related to osteoarthritis. Furthermore, the team found that, if a family member had a history of high cholesterol, the risk of developing osteoarthritis was increased by 26 %.
Compared to patients, whom did not have a high cholesterol level, the patients with a high cholesterol level had 20 % increased risk of developing osteoarthritis. Through statistical analysis the scientists found that for every unit that the level of cholesterol in blood increased, the risk of developing osteoarthritis rose by 9 %.
Having identified the link between cholesterol and osteoarthritis, the natural question is: what to do about it and how can we utilise this new knowledge? The results indicate the possibility of preventing osteoarthritis by using cholesterol lowering drugs. If the results are compared to similar studies, which was performed in other countries, there has not yet been reached a consensus. Some scientists produce similar results, confirming the correlation; however, others are unable to prove the correlation. The only thing the scientists agree on is that cholesterol lowering drugs can be part of the osteoarthritis treatment – even if the mechanism remains unclear.
And what does this mean?
What is the conclusion of the studies? There is still much more research required to prove the correlation and finally make it clear, how cholesterol can affect the development of osteoarthritis. In the meantime, it never hurts to eat healthy in order to have a functional and balanced metabolism. Not just to stay clear of diseases like osteoarthritis, but other diseases brought on by lifestyle choices, such as Arteriosclerosis.
