PREVALENCE OF JOINT PAIN AND OSTEOARTHRITIS IN OBESE PATIENTS

Osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint disorder characterized by pain, decreased mobility and negative impact on life. It leads to articular damage and inflammation of joints. OA develops slowly over the period of time, which is highly present in adult population, causes pain, loss function and poor quality of life especially in obese patients. High body mass index is the risk factor for the development of OA. The most noticeable effect of obesity on the musculoskeletal system is associated with joint disease commonly known as Osteoarthritis. The pathology of osteoarthritis is related to increase joint loading and irregular biomechanics with some hormonal dysregulation . Current study concluded that joint pain and OA is prevalent among obese patients. Two main risk factors of developing osteoarthritis are ageing and obesity. Studies have reported that number of individuals over 60 years old exceeded from 7.2 million to 19.2 million from1980-2010 and most probably it will reach up to 64 million in 2050 [24]. There has remarkable increase in populations overweight and obesity in last decades. It has found that knee OA is strongly linked with high metabolic and inflammatory conditions in obese patients [25]. Metabolic factors in which cytokines associated with adipose tissue including leptin, adiponectin and resistin enhances articular damage and increase local inflammatory process. OA is strongly linked with disorder of lipid and glucose metabolism coexistence for an obese patient to have OA.