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Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
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Risk factors
By Mayo Clinic staffRisk factors for arthritis include:
- Family history. Some types of arthritis run in families, so you may be more likely to develop arthritis if your parents or siblings have the disorder. While your genes don't actually cause arthritis, they can make you more susceptible to environmental factors that may trigger arthritis.
- Age. The risk of many types of arthritis — including osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and gout — increases with age.
- Sex. Women are more likely than are men to develop rheumatoid arthritis, while most of the people who have gout are men.
- Previous joint injury. People who have injured a joint, perhaps while playing a sport, are more likely to eventually develop arthritis in that joint.
- Obesity. Carrying excess pounds puts stress on joints, particularly your knees, hips and spine. Obese people have a higher risk of developing arthritis.
References
- Arthritis. National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases. http://www.niams.nih.gov/Health_Info/Arthritis/tengo_artritis.asp. Accessed Nov. 24, 2008.
- Pinals RS. Patient information: Arthritis. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Nov. 24, 2008.
- Questions and answers about arthritis and rheumatic diseases. National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases. http://www.niams.nih.gov/Health_Info/Arthritis/arthritis_rheumatic_qa.asp. Accessed Dec. 4, 2008.
- Handout on health: Osteoarthritis. National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases. http://www.niams.nih.gov/Health_Info/Osteoarthritis/default.asp. Accessed Nov. 24, 2008.
- Handout on health: Rheumatoid arthritis. National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases. http://www.niams.nih.gov/Health_Info/Rheumatic_Disease/default.asp. Accessed Nov. 25, 2008.
- Kalunian KC. Patient information: Features and diagnosis of osteoarthritis. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Nov. 25, 2008.
- Becker MA. Patient information: Gout. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Nov. 26, 2008.
- Surgical therapy. In: Goldman L, et al. Cecil Medicine. 23rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/112757110-6/780150341/1492/1060.html#4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-2805-5..50304-9--cesec7_13377. Accessed Dec. 5, 2008.
- Natural medicines in the clinical management of osteoarthritis. Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database. http://www.naturaldatabase.com. Accessed Nov. 28, 2008.
- Acupuncture for osteoarthritis of the knee. National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. http://nccam.nih.gov/research/results/acu-osteo.htm. Accessed Nov. 28, 2008.
