It may seem common knowledge that cigarettes are bad for you, but nearly 18 of every 100 U.S. adults aged 18 years or older (17.8%) currently smoke cigarettes, reports the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This reality is bad news for those with knee osteoarthritis (OA) who currently smoke-or used to. According to a study reported at the Osteoarthritis Research Society International meeting (May 2015), smoking is related to prevalent and incident joint pain in those who have knee OA or are at high risk for it. The prospective study analyzed data from the Multicenter Osteoarthritis Study (MOST) of patients initially aged 50 to 79 years and examined the development and progression of knee OA-first at baseline and at the seven-year follow-up visit. At baseline, 56 percent were never-smokers, 38 percent were former smokers and 6 percent were current smokers. Study results showed that at baseline, current smokers had significantly more severe knee pain than did never-smokers. Also, former smokers were more likely than were never-smokers to have widespread joint pain.
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