Osteoarthritis of the Hip or Knee Raises Mortality Risk

Little is known about causes of death in people with hip or knee osteoarthritis (OA). In this population-based cohort study, investigators assessed all-cause and disease-specific mortality in 1163 patients (age, ≥35) with symptomatic, x-ray–confirmed hip or knee OA who were seen in general practices in southwest England.

After median follow-up of 14 years, excess all-cause mortality was observed in patients with OA compared with the general population. Similarly, excess cardiovascular-, cancer-, and dementia-associated mortality was observed in OA patients compared with the general population. Several baseline characteristics of OA patients were associated independently with higher all-cause mortality: advanced age, male sex (hazard ratio, 1…