4 Jul 2024 • Individuals with osteoarthritis (OA) faced almost three times the risk of developing severe multimorbidity compared to those without osteoarthritis.

• A cohort study involving 1.4 million residents found 9846 cases of OA and matched references. Individuals aged 40+ with incident OA were included. Group-based trajectory modeling showed four classes with varying chronic condition trajectories. Mild multimorbidity late progression (class 1), mild multimorbidity early progression (class 2), moderate multimorbidity (class 3), and severe multimorbidity (class 4).

• Initially, all classes started with low average chronic condition counts (≤1). Class 1 showed the slowest progression towards multimorbidity, ending with the lowest average number of chronic conditions (mean: 2.9, SD 1.7) by the end of the study period, while class 4 exhibited the fastest progression, ending with the highest average number (mean: 9.6, SD 2.6).

• The presence of OA was associated with a progressively higher adjusted relative risk of belonging to more severe multimorbidity classes, ranging from 1.29 for class 1 to 2.45 for class 4.

Source:RMD Open| Read full story