Occupational Risk Factors in Osteoarthritis
Summary
Osteoarthritis is a chronic joint disorder characterised by progressive cartilage deterioration, subchondral bone remodelling and synovial inflammation. Occupational mechanical factors play a central role in its onset and progression. Repetitive joint loading through heavy lifting, sustained kneeling, squatting, twisting and vibration contributes to accelerated wear of articular cartilage. Awkward postures and prolonged weight-bearing tasks amplify shear forces, particularly in the hip and knee. Common occupations at elevated risk include construction workers, miners, floor layers, healthcare staff and agricultural labourers. The global ageing workforce and rising prevalence of obesity intensify the economic and societal burden of work-related osteoarthritis. Prevention strategies hinge on ergonomic interventions, workload rotation, early detection of joint injury and integration of biomechanical insights with gene–environment research to inform tailored workplace guidelines.
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Occupational Risk Factors in Osteoarthritis publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in occupational risk factors in osteoarthritis across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Osteoarthritis: A degenerative joint disease characterised by progressive loss of cartilage, changes in subchondral bone and synovial inflammation.
Mechanical exposure: Physical stress on joints arising from repetitive or sustained movements such as lifting, bending, kneeling or vibration.
Odds ratio: A statistical measure expressing the odds of an outcome occurring with a particular exposure compared to without that exposure.
Mendelian randomisation: A method using genetic variants as proxies for environmental exposures to infer causal relationships between those exposures and disease outcomes.
References
- Hip osteoarthritis and occupational mechanical exposures: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health (2024).
- The causal effect of two occupational factors on osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis: a Mendelian randomization study. Frontiers in Public Health (2024).
- Risk factors for development of lower limb osteoarthritis in physically demanding occupations: A narrative umbrella review. Journal of Occupational Health (2019).
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