Osteoarthritis.
Nat Rev Dis Primers. 2025 Feb 13; 11(1):10.NR

Abstract

Osteoarthritis is a heterogeneous whole-joint disease that can cause pain and is a leading cause of disability and premature work loss. The predominant disease risk factors - obesity and joint injury - are well recognized and modifiable. A greater understanding of the complex mechanisms, including inflammatory, metabolic and post-traumatic processes, that can lead to disease and of the pathophysiology of pain is helping to delineate mechanistic targets. Currently, management is primarily focused on alleviating the main symptoms of pain and obstructed function through lifestyle interventions such as self-management programmes, education, physical activity, exercise and weight management. However, lack of adherence to known effective osteoarthritis therapeutic strategies also contributes to the high global disease burden. For those who have persistent symptoms that are compromising quality of life and have not responded adequately to core treatments, joint replacement is an option to consider. The burden imparted by the disease causes a substantial impact on individuals affected in terms of quality of life. For society, this disease is a substantial driver of increased health-care costs and underemployment. This Primer highlights advances and controversies in osteoarthritis, drawing key insights from the current evidence base.

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Authors+Show Affiliations

Tang S

Clinical Research Centre, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China. Department of Spinal Surgery, Orthopedic Medical Center, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China. Institute of Exercise and Rehabilitation Science, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.

Zhang C

Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.

Oo WM

Department of Rheumatology, Royal North Shore Hospital and Sydney Musculoskeletal Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Science, Kolling Institute, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia. Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Mandalay General Hospital, University of Medicine, Mandalay, Myanmar.

Fu K

Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.

Risberg MA

Department of Sport Medicine, Norwegian School Sport Sciences, Oslo, Norway.

Bierma-Zeinstra SM

Department of General Practice, Erasmus MC University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

Neogi T

Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.

Atukorala I

Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo, Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Malfait AM

Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA.

Ding C

Clinical Research Centre, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China. Changhai.Ding@utas.edu.au. Institute of Exercise and Rehabilitation Science, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China. Changhai.Ding@utas.edu.au. Menzies Institute for Medical Research, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. Changhai.Ding@utas.edu.au.

Hunter DJ

Clinical Research Centre, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China. david.hunter@sydney.edu.au. Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China. david.hunter@sydney.edu.au. Department of Rheumatology, Royal North Shore Hospital and Sydney Musculoskeletal Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Science, Kolling Institute, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia. david.hunter@sydney.edu.au.

MeSH

HumansOsteoarthritisQuality of LifeRisk FactorsObesityExercise

Pub Type(s)

Journal Article

Review

Language

eng

PubMed ID

39948092

Citation

Tang, Su'an, et al. "Osteoarthritis." Nature Reviews. Disease Primers, vol. 11, no. 1, 2025, p. 10.

Tang S, Zhang C, Oo WM, et al. Osteoarthritis. Nat Rev Dis Primers. 2025;11(1):10.

Tang, S., Zhang, C., Oo, W. M., Fu, K., Risberg, M. A., Bierma-Zeinstra, S. M., Neogi, T., Atukorala, I., Malfait, A. M., Ding, C., & Hunter, D. J. (2025). Osteoarthritis. Nature Reviews. Disease Primers, 11(1), 10. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41572-025-00594-6

Tang S, et al. Osteoarthritis. Nat Rev Dis Primers. 2025 Feb 13;11(1):10. PubMed PMID: 39948092.

* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case

TY - JOUR T1 - Osteoarthritis. AU - Tang,Su'an, AU - Zhang,Changqing, AU - Oo,Win Min, AU - Fu,Kai, AU - Risberg,May Arna, AU - Bierma-Zeinstra,Sita M, AU - Neogi,Tuhina, AU - Atukorala,Inoshi, AU - Malfait,Anne-Marie, AU - Ding,Changhai, AU - Hunter,David J, Y1 - 2025/02/13/ PY - 2025/01/10/accepted PY - 2025/2/14/medline PY - 2025/2/14/pubmed PY - 2025/2/13/entrez SP - 10 EP - 10 JF - Nature reviews. Disease primers JO - Nat Rev Dis Primers VL - 11 IS - 1 N2 - Osteoarthritis is a heterogeneous whole-joint disease that can cause pain and is a leading cause of disability and premature work loss. The predominant disease risk factors - obesity and joint injury - are well recognized and modifiable. A greater understanding of the complex mechanisms, including inflammatory, metabolic and post-traumatic processes, that can lead to disease and of the pathophysiology of pain is helping to delineate mechanistic targets. Currently, management is primarily focused on alleviating the main symptoms of pain and obstructed function through lifestyle interventions such as self-management programmes, education, physical activity, exercise and weight management. However, lack of adherence to known effective osteoarthritis therapeutic strategies also contributes to the high global disease burden. For those who have persistent symptoms that are compromising quality of life and have not responded adequately to core treatments, joint replacement is an option to consider. The burden imparted by the disease causes a substantial impact on individuals affected in terms of quality of life. For society, this disease is a substantial driver of increased health-care costs and underemployment. This Primer highlights advances and controversies in osteoarthritis, drawing key insights from the current evidence base. SN - 2056-676X UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/39948092 DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -

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Osteoarthritis.Nat Rev Dis Primers. 2025 Feb 13; 11(1):10.NR