Approved Research

Identifying risk factors for osteoarthritis and osteoporosis in UK Biobank: a longitudinal cohort study

Shanghai Jiao Tong University

Lay summary

Scientific rationale: Osteoarthritis (OA) and osteoporosis (OP) are the most common disorders of bone, which usually occur in people over the age of 50 years, and are associated with substantial morbidity and disability. As a result of the rise in the number of aging population groups worldwide, there is an increase in the number of OA and OP, causing a tremendous cost burden on healthcare systems. Early detection and early prevention would help reduce the healthcare burden and improve their quality of life.

OA and OP are different diseases, with differences in risk-factors, bone mineral density (BMD), BMI, phenotype, morbidity, and mortality. However, they share some epidemiological profiles, and in both diseases, bone metabolism plays a crucial role in the pathophysiology. Unfortunately, the in-depth relation between OA and OP has not been fully elucidated. In addition, there is still a lack of sufficient and robust evidence on estimating the risk-factors and risk contributions of OA and OP, incorporating multiple levels of data on modifiable environmental, lifestyle, genetic, metabolic, morphological, the interactions of these factors, and the trajectory changes of these factors in a population-based prospective cohort.

Aims: Therefore, we aim to: (i) investigate the relation between OA and OP. (ii) estimate the risk-factors and their risk contributions to OA and OP. (iii) build one or more optimized risk prediction models fit for predicting the risk of OA and OP.

Project Duration: Around 36 months from the time we have received the data.

Public Health Impact: Through this study, we will be able to identify robust, sensitive, and accessible risk-factors and biomarkers of OA and OP by incorporating multi-omics data, which will help researchers comprehensively understand the development of OA and OP, and will be helpful in the precise and individual prevention or treatment of OA and OP.