Receipt of a primary elective knee or hip total joint arthroplasty (TJA) for osteoarthritis (OA) provides a cardiovascular protective benefit, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Orthaopedic Surgeons, held from March 11 to 15 in New Orleans.
Bheeshma Ravi, M.D., from the University of Toronto Medical Center, and colleagues studied a cohort of 2,200 individuals with hip/knee OA (aged ≥55 years at recruitment) and followed them prospectively from recruitment (1996 to 1998) until death or 2011. Comparisons of a composite outcome (serious cardiac event or death) and survival were made between those who did versus those who did not receive a primary TJA within an exposure period of three years following their baseline assessment.
The researchers found that, based on the 162 propensity-matched pairs, those who received a TJA during the exposure period were significantly less likely to experience the composite outcome than those who did not (hazard ratio, 0.63). The absolute risk reduction was 13.6 percent, and the number needed to treat within seven years of the exposure period was eight patients.
“These findings provide further support for interventions designed to reduce physical inactivity due to OA,” Ravi and colleagues conclude.
