Sleep Disorders Linked to an Increased Risk of Osteoarthritis

Takeaway

Sleep disorders were significantly associated with an increased risk of osteoarthritis (OA).
The association was significant across all sex, age and OA type subgroups, with the exception of patients aged >80 years and those with knee OA.

Why this matters

Findings highlight the importance of improving the diagnosis and management of sleep disorders to mitigate their potentially deleterious effects on OA.

Study design

This case-control study included patients (age, ≥18 years) with a diagnosis of OA across 256 UK general practices (1997-2016).
175,966 patients with OA were matched (1:1) with participants without OA.
Funding: None disclosed.

Key results

Sleep disorders had a positive and significant association with an increased risk of OA (OR, 1.25; 95% CI, 1.22-1.29; P<.001).
This association was substantiated in all sex and age subgroups, except in patients aged >80 years (OR, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.88-1.01; P=.069), ORs decreasing with increasing age.
In terms of the type of sleep disorder, the risk of developing OA significantly increased with (OR; 95% CI):
- non-organic sleep disorders (1.51; 1.44-1.58; P<.001);
- hypersomnia (1.79; 1.44-2.22; P<.001); and
- sleep apnoea (3.79; 3.20-4.50; P<.001).
The association between sleep disorders and OA was significant in all OA subgroups, except in patients with knee OA (OR, 0.97; 95% CI, 0.86-1.10; P=.613).

Limitations

Study did not include all sleep disorders (e.g., unspecified sleep disorder).

This clinical summary originally appeared on Univadis, part of the Medscape Professional Network.

Any views expressed above are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the views of WebMD or Medscape.

Cite this: Pavankumar Kamat. Sleep Disorders Linked to an Increased Risk of Osteoarthritis - Medscape - May 06, 2021.

Commenting is limited to medical professionals. To comment please Log-in.

Comments on Medscape are moderated and should be professional in tone and on topic. You must declare any conflicts of interest related to your comments and responses. Please see our Commenting Guide for further information. We reserve the right to remove posts at our sole discretion.