Osteoarthritis and comorbidity: time for action

On its own, osteoarthritis (OA) is bad enough. It is one of the most important causes of functional limitation and disability, accounting for 2% of all years lived with disability worldwide 1 Vos T. Allen C. Arora M. Barber R.M. Bhutta Z.A. Brown A. et al. Global, regional, and national incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability for 310 diseases and injuries, 1990–2015: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015. Lancet. 2016; 388: 1545-1602 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (4982) Google Scholar . It takes a heavy toll on the lives of those affected, hampering participation in daily activities and reducing quality of life. Nevertheless, outdated and dismissive narratives about OA are pervasive 2 Nissen N. Holm P.M. Bricca A. Dideriksen M. Tang L.H. Skou S.T. Clinicians’ beliefs and attitudes to physical activity and exercise therapy as treatment for knee and/or hip osteoarthritis: a scoping review. Osteoarthritis and Cartilage. 2022; 30: 260-269 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (11) Google Scholar : it is often seen as merely the inevitable ‘aches and pains’ of aging. Despite efforts to raise awareness that OA is a serious disease 3 OARSI White Paper — OA as a serious disease https://oarsi.org/oarsi-white-paper-oa-serious-disease Accessed Nov 21, 2022 Google Scholar , it remains underdiagnosed 4 Turkiewicz A. Gerhardsson de Verdier M. Engström G. Nilsson P.M. Mellström C. Lohmander L.S. et al. Prevalence of knee pain and knee OA in southern Sweden and the proportion that seeks medical care. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2015; 54: 827-835 Crossref PubMed Scopus (88) Google Scholar and undertreated 5 Hagen K.B. Smedslund G. Osteras N. Jamtvedt G. Quality of community-based osteoarthritis care: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Arthritis Care Res. 2016; 68: 1443-1452 Crossref PubMed Scopus (97) Google Scholar , and research is underfunded. But for those affected, OA is often just the beginning. As the study by Kamps et al. in this issue of Osteoarthritis and Cartilage confirms, OA is strongly associated with subsequently developing a wide variety of other common conditions, creating an overall burden that the wider medical community can no longer overlook.