Knee Osteoarthritis Associated With a 22% Higher Risk of Developing Osteoporosis .

Could knee osteoarthritis signal an increased risk of systemic bone loss? A prospective analysis of 406810 UK Biobank participants found that individuals with knee osteoarthritis had a 22% higher adjusted risk of developing osteoporosis over a median follow-up of 13 years. Osteoporosis occurred in 5.2% of participants with knee osteoarthritis compared with 3.9% of those without the condition. A smaller clinical cohort also demonstrated elevated markers of bone resorption. These findings suggest that osteoarthritis may identify patients who warrant closer bone-health assessment, although the observational design cannot establish causality.