A longitudinal study of four birth cohorts (1935–1944, n = 1,598; 1945–1954, n = 2,208; 1955–1964, n = 2,781; and 1965–1974, n = 2,230) found that succeeding generations had a higher prevalence of arthritis. Various risk factors were associated with arthritis but did not account for this cohort effect. The benefits of improved education, increased income and smoking cessation on arthritis prevalence partially overcame the detrimental effects of increasing BMI. Further analysis suggested that obese individuals had an earlier age of arthritis onset compared with individuals of normal weight.
References
Badley, E. M. et al. A population-based study of changes in arthritis prevalence and arthritis risk factors over time: Generational differences and the role of obesity. Arthritis Care Res. (Hoboken) http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/acr.23213 (2017)
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McHugh, J. Generational differences in arthritis prevalence. Nat Rev Rheumatol 13, 258 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrrheum.2017.47
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrrheum.2017.47