Function in symptomatic knee OA is determined more by pain and obesity than by structural change, at least as seen on plain X-ray. Our study provides further support for interventions targeting anxiety and helplessness in knee OA.

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ObjectivesTo assess predictive factors for rheumatoid arthritis interstitial lung disease (RA-ILD) in two early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) inception cohorts with a focus on methotrexate (MTX) exposure.DesignMulticentre prospective early RA inception cohort studies; the early RA study (ERAS) and the early RA network (ERAN).SettingSecondary care, ERAS nine centres, ERAN 23 centres in England, Wales and Ireland.ParticipantsPatients with new diagnosis of RA, n=2701. Standardised data including demographics, drug therapies and clinical outcomes including the presence of RA-ILD were collected at baseline, within 3–6 months, at 12 months and annually thereafter.Primary and secondary outcome measuresPrimary outcome was the association of MTX exposure on RA-ILD diagnosis. Secondary outcomes were the association of demographic, comorbid and RA-specific factors on RA-ILD diagnosis and the association of MTX exposure on time to RA-ILD diagnosis.ResultsOf 92 eligible ILD cases, 39 occurred in 1578 (2.5%) MTX exposed and 53 in 1114 (4.8%) non-MTX exposed cases. The primary analysis of RA-ILD cases only developing after any conventional synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drug treatment (n=67) showed MTX exposure not to be associated with incident RA-ILD (OR 0.85, 95% CI 0.49 to 1.49, p=0.578) and a non-significant trend for delayed ILD diagnosis (OR 0.54, 95% CI 0.28 to 1.06, p=0.072). In an extended analysis including RA-ILD cases present at RA diagnosis (n=92), MTX exposure was associated with a significantly reduced risk of incident RA-ILD (OR 0.48, 95% CI 0.3 to 0.79, p=0.004) and longer time to ILD diagnosis (OR 0.41, 95% CI 0.23 to 0.75, p=0.004). Other independent baseline associations with incident RA-ILD were higher age of RA onset, ever smoking, male gender, rheumatoid nodules and longer time from first RA symptom to first outpatient visit.ConclusionsMTX treatment was not associated with an increased risk of RA-ILD diagnosis. On the contrary, evidence suggested that MTX may delay the onset of ILD.

Knee pain is not the same in all individuals with knee OA, confirming the heterogeneity of the condition. Location of pain is usually either generalized or medial. Patients with these patterns do not differ in demographic, radiographic or psychosocial variables but important differences in functional ability can be detected, suggesting differences in the underlying causes of pain and disability between the two groups.

Pain is the most important symptom of osteoarthritis (OA) and the reason why individuals seek medical treatment. The anatomic cause is unclear and is likely to vary between individuals. Recent work confirms the heterogeneity of pain in OA with differences in severity, location, precipitating and relieving factors, and response to intra-articular anesthetic. Nonpharmacologic treatment of OA is important and evidence is now accumulating for interventions such as aerobic exercise, quadriceps exercises, footwear modification, education, and social support. Analgesia remains the first choice drug therapy: compounds more potent than acetaminophen are now available and effective. New cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitors may have a role in subjects for whom simple analgesia is inadequate. Glucosamine is a simple, safe product that appears to have a weak pain-relieving effect, and intra-articular hyaluronate injections may also have a limited role. Recent community studies confirm the benefit of joint replacement in OA, though a number of questions remain about the timing, indications, and alternatives to surgery.