OA is a common degenerative joint disease that causes pain and swelling of the joints in the hand, hip or knee. According to the Centers for disease control and prevention (CDC) nearly 27 million affects Americans age 25 and older, prevalent knee OA, and heavy women on OA. While medical suggests obesity, joint injuries and repeated use of some sports out as risk factors for incident light knee OA, the risks associated with OA progression remain unclear.
"Milk consumption plays an important role in the bone health," explained lead author Bing Lu, M.D., P.h.., of the Brigham and women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, "Our study is the largest study on the impact of the dairy intake in the progression of knee OA study."
For the present study, 2,148 participants (3.064 knee) were recruited for the Osteoarthritis initiative with knee OA. At the beginning of the study of dietary data collection and common width was measured by X-ray to evaluate progression of OA. Topics 888 women and 1,260 had follow-up at 12, 24, 36 and 48 months.
As the consumption of milk by no less than 3, 4-6 and 7 (8 oz) more glasses per week increased, decreased the joint width for women also 0.38 mm, 0.29 and 0.29 mm and 0.26 mm, respectively. Results persisted even adjusted for body mass index (BMI), disease and dietary factors. No association between milk consumption and common broad decline was reported in men.
"Our results show that women who drink often milk can reduce the progression of OA," concludes Dr. Lu. "Further studies of milk intake and delay OA progression are required."
In a related editorial SeniorLife also published arthritis care & Research, Shivani Sahni, Ph.d., and Robert McLean, D.Sc., mph, from Harvard member organization Hebrew Institute for aging research agree "with the aging population and the increase in life expectancy, an urgent need for effective methods to the management of OA is there. "The study of Lu et al. provides the first evidence that more and more non-fat or low-fat milk consumption progression of OA among women can reduce are burdened by OA of the knee, which can lead to functional disability."