Obesity in the etiology of osteoarthritis of the knee

Problem. Osteoarthritis of the knee joint is one of the important and highly functionally impairing diseases of the musculoskeletal system in adults. The spectrum of causes of knee arthritis is broad. Obesity is one of the main causes in the etiology of osteoarthritis of the knee. In particular, knowledge of the cause and effect relationship between obesity and knee osteoarthritis are important in the assessment of claims of occupational disease BK 2112 (knee osteoarthritis due to long-term kneeing). Objective and methods. This article is based on a literature review of cohort studies with regard to the question whether obesity is a risk factor in the etiology of osteoarthritis of the knee. Results. A total of 26 cohort studies were identified. Based on the proven co-hort studies it can be shown that a significant association exists between obesity and physical occurrence of osteoarthritis of the knee joint. Compared with normal weight subjects the risk of occurrence of the disease is doubled in obese subjects per category of overweight (overweight 25-30 kg/m(2), obese over 30 kg/m(2)). A dose-response relationship with respect to the degree of obesity is clearly demonstrated. Conclusion. Obesity plays a significant role in the etiology of primary osteoarthritis of the knee joint.