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.
