Workers in danger of osteoarthritis

Cleaners, textile workers and workers in construction and agriculture may be damaging their joints permanently, a French study has revealed.

Workers from these groups were found to have a high risk of osteoarthritis in the knees, hips and hands. Almost 40% of patients reported their first symptoms before the age of 50.

Rossignol and others, "Primary osteoarthritis of hip, knee, and hand in relation to occupational exposure", Occupational and Environmental Medicine, volume 62, pages 772-777, 2005