Individual and occupational risk factors for knee osteoarthritis: results of a case-control study in Germany

Abstract

The results support a dose-response relationship between kneeling/squatting and symptomatic knee OA in men and, for the first time, in women. The results concerning general and occupational predictors for knee OA reflect the findings from the literature quite well. Yet occupational risks such as jumping or climbing stairs/ladders, as discussed in the literature, did not correlate with symptomatic knee OA in the present study. With regards to occupational health, prevention measures should focus on the reduction of kneeling activities and the lifting and carrying of loads as well as general risk factors, most notably the reduction of obesity. More intervention studies of the effectiveness of tools and working methods for reducing knee straining activities are needed.