The impact metabolic health on osteoarthritis, from disease development to joint replacement.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is among the main and fastest-growing causes of disability worldwide.

Moreover, more than 80% of OA patients suffer from other conditions including metabolic disorders such as diabetes and hypertension.

Nevertheless, the recommended management of OA is not designed to take into account multimorbidity, with potentially negative repercussions on prevention and care.My aim is to determine the influence of Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) on the initiation, progression and management of osteoarthritis (OA) in peripheral joints.

To achieve this, I have established two large datasets created by merging data from multiple Swedish healthcare registers providing information on diagnosis, drug dispensation, exercise and surgical procedures for OA, and laboratory analyses of blood samples.

These datasets are the world´s most wide-ranging resources to study OA and metabolic conditions and give us the possibility to track the influence of MetS at different stages of joint disease and to achieve comprehensive insight into the interplay of these highly prevalent and disabling disorders.As PI I will benefit from nationally and internationally renowned collaborators.

I will work as part of an established team with extensive experience in complex epidemiological investigations using register data.

This proposal has the potential to enable the identification of potential prevention targets and treatment improvements of OA, a global threat to healthy ageing.