Individuals with asthma or eczema are at an increased risk of developing osteoarthritis, a latest study reveals.

The study published within the Annals of Rheumatic Disease Monday further suggested the opportunity of an allergic pathway in the event of Osteoarthritis that will be targeted with existing drugs.

What’s Osteoarthritis?

Osteoarthritis is essentially the most common type of arthritis that takes place when the protective cartilage cushioning the ends of the bones wears down over time. Around 50 million people within the U.S. suffer from Osteoarthritis. Common symptoms of the disorder include pain, stiffness, swelling tenderness and lack of flexibility.

Although the damage to the cartilage can’t be reversed, medics recommend patients stay lively, maintain a healthy weight and take treatments to decelerate the progression of the disease.

Findings of the research

Osteoarthritis was believed to be developed from the damage and tear of cartilage until a study published in 2019 suggested that it may very well be attributable to allergic inflammation.

Matthew Baker, MD and assistant professor of immunology and rheumatology, and other researchers decided to further investigate the link by retroactively tracking those with atopic disease from insurance claim data, specializing in asthma and eczema.

For the study, they chose individuals who had no osteoarthritis for 2 years and were later diagnosed with asthma or eczema to form a control group. Additionally they followed patients who also had two years without osteoarthritis and any diagnosis of asthma or eczema later.

Patients were then matched with those within the control group who had similar demographics, outpatient visit frequency and other aspects to see who developed osteoarthritis.

In accordance with the research results, patients with asthma or eczema are at a 58% increased risk of developing osteoarthritis over about 10 years. In the event that they occur to have each conditions, the danger of developing osteoarthritis increased to 115%.

“Our findings provide the muse for future interventional studies that would discover the primary treatment to scale back the progression of osteoarthritis,” Baker, the lead writer of the study, said.

The study also found that asthma patients had an 83% increased risk of developing osteoarthritis when put next with patients who are suffering from other Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases. This finding suggested that a lung disease without an allergic response doesn’t activate the allergic pathway critical factor for developing osteoarthritis.

The prevailing medications that inhibit allergic cytokines and mast cells for asthma attacks and mast cell activation syndrome may very well be possibly used for treating osteoarthritis, Baker said.

“We now have a robust basis for studying this as an intervention, to see if targeting pathways like inhibiting mast cells or allergic cytokines can actually reduce the event and, or progression of osteoarthritis,” Baker added.

The study found that patients with asthma or eczema are at a 58% increased risk of developing osteoarthritis over about 10 years.
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