Satish Kumar, K. Usha
BACKGROUND Osteoarthritis is a common rheumatological disorder of unknown cause. The development of rheumatological disorders like osteoarthritis depend on the interaction between genetic background and a number of environmental factors. Environmental factors implicated in the aetiology of rheumatic diseases include trauma, sunlight, cold climate, smoking, drugs and adjuvants, diet, exercise, occupation, radiation exposure, drinking water, psychological stress, air pollution, chemicals, drugs, socioeconomic status, geographic location, hot and cold climate, occupation and alcohol. MATERIALS AND METHODS This is a cross sectional observational study. The sample selected was of 174 patients with osteoarthritis fulfilling the ACR criteria. The tools used were clinical profile, ACR criteria for OA, serology, X-rays and acute phase reactants. The data was analyzed using SPSS software. RESULTS In the study, most of the osteoarthritis patients were females. In the study, majority of the patients with osteoarthritis resided in high ranges, were smokers and non-alcoholics. Osteoarthritis is common in patients taking non-vegetarian diet, manual labourers, those with low level of education and low socio-economic status. Most of the patients with OA had aggravation of symptoms following exposure to cold and stress. Patients who resided in high ranges, smokers, alcoholics, manual labourers, who had low level of education and belonged to low socio-economic class had frequent aggravation of symptoms. CONCLUSION In the study, most of the osteoarthritis patients were females. Environmental factors like smoking, alcoholism, diet, occupation, educational status, socioeconomic status, place of residence, climatic conditions and stress significantly influenced the occurrence and progression of symptoms in osteoarthritis patients.
