Patients with asthma or atopic dermatitis (eczema) demonstrated an increased incidence of osteoarthritis compared to patients without these atopic conditions, according to a study published by Baker et al in Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. The investigators conducted a retrospective cohort study including adult patients without preexisting osteoarthritis or inflammatory arthritis who either did or did not have atopic disease. Incidence of osteoarthritis was higher in patients with asthma or eczema (58% higher; 26.9 per 1,000 person-years) compared to patients without the conditions (19.1 per 1,000 person-years); in patients with both asthma and eczema, risk of osteoarthritis was even more heightened (115% higher). The study authors concluded, “Future interventional studies may consider targeting allergic pathways for the prevention or treatment of osteoarthritis.”
First study author Matthew Baker, MD, Assistant Professor of Immunology and Rheumatology at Stanford Medicine, commented on the tie-in to allergic pathways in a companion press release summarizing the study’s findings. He noted that existing medications for asthma attacks and for mast cell activation syndrome could be candidates for treatment of osteoarthritis, adding “We now have a strong basis for studying this as an intervention, to see if targeting pathways like inhibiting mast cells or allergic cytokines can actually reduce the development and/or progression of osteoarthritis.”