Smokers have worse osteoarthritis

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

Smoking makes osteoarthritis more painful and more likely to progress, according to new research.
Osteoarthritis is a painful and disabling condition arising from degeneration of the joints, especially the knees, hips, and fingers. It occurs when cartilage tissue, which buffers the joints, is gradually lost. Researchers at the Mayo Clinic now report on a study examining how smoking affects the progression of osteoarthritis.

They looked at 159 men who had osteoarthritis of the knees and were monitored for up to 30 months. Nineteen were active smokers at the start of the study; they smoked around 20 cigarettes a day and had done so for around 40 years. The smokers tended to be younger and thinner, both of which would normally protect against osteoarthritis.

However, the smokers were more than twice more likely to have a significant degree of cartilage loss than the non-smokers. Smokers were also more likely to report greater pain severity. The researchers suggest that smoking alters the pain threshold. It may also increase the level of toxic substances in the blood and starve tissues of oxygen, which may speed up the loss of cartilage.

Source
Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases online 6th December 2006

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