Osteoarthritis is a disease that affects the joints characterized by the degeneration of cartilage with inflammation. A survey by the American College of Rheumatology, published in the journal Arthritis & Rheumatology, revealed an increase in the number of cases worldwide.
According to the study, based on data covering the period between 1990 and 2019, there was an overall increase in cases of 113.25% in the period studied. The jump was from 247.5 million in 1990 to almost 528 million in 2019.
In Brazil, it is estimated that about 12 million Brazilians have osteoarthritis, equivalent to 6.3% of the adult population. The prevalence increases among the elderly: after the age of 65, 85% have radiological evidence of the disease.
In this Monday’s edition (21) of the Medical Correspondentfrom Novo Dia, neurosurgeon Fernando Gomes explained the main characteristics of osteoarthritis.
Symptoms of the disease include joint pain and swelling, reduced mobility, and frequent noises when the joints move.
“It is expected that you actually have a range of movement options that you can make, if you have a reduction in your movement capacity, that can also be part of this diagnosis”, says Gomes.
The knees, hips and hands have been the main joints affected by osteoarthritis. “We are more seated, with more weight, putting more overload on the body, with less movement, the hands are used more for, for example, typing, from the computer itself or even the cell phone or tablet”, explains Gomes.
According to the neurosurgeon, the advance in diagnostic capacity is also a factor that contributes to the high number of cases detected in recent years.
Orthopedist Pedro Baches explains that the treatment aims to prevent wear and tear on the joint. “Clinical treatment is based on four pillars: drugs that improve the condition of the articular cartilage, weight loss so as not to overload the joint, aerobic activity to stimulate the cartilage and, finally, adequate muscle strengthening”, he says.
About the withdrawal
The survey was carried out from information collected by the consortium known as Global Burden Disease, which brings together 7,000 researchers from more than 150 countries.
The disease, according to the survey, affects women more than men. Geographical differences were identified, with the countries with the highest development index having a higher incidence, which may be related to accurate and early diagnoses.
Knee osteoarthritis is the problem that most impacts the Global Burden of Diseases index, although, in percentage terms, hip osteoarthritis is the one with the greatest growth. Population aging and obesity are the factors that most contributed to the expansion of the disease between 1990 and 2019.
Source: CNN Brasil
