A comparison of risk factors for osteo- and rheumatoid arthritis using NHANES data

Osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis are both diseases of joints, but they have very different etiologies. Osteoarthritis is a disease assumed to result from wear and tear over time, whereas rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease where the body’s immune system attacks joint tissues. Using NHANES data (1999–2015), we have compared the influence of age, sex, ethnicity, body mass index and smoking on these two very different forms of arthritis. Incidence of both increases with age and are more frequent in females than males. There is little apparent difference between osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis in women of normal as comparted to overweight, but both are more frequent in obese women, especially those over the age of 60. While osteoarthritis is more frequent in whites, blacks have more rheumatoid arthritis, and Hispanics show an intermediate prevalence. Smoking significantly increased the incidence of both osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis in women, but increased prevalence of only RA in men. There was no effect of smoking on OA prevalence in males. It is remarkable that two diseases of joints, which have quite different causes, should have so many commonalities. The differences that exist appear to be due to a combination of inflammatory markers and access to health care.