The robust association between childhood physical abuse and osteoarthritis in adulthood: Findings from a representative community sample

Objective: Research suggests a role of early-life trauma in the development of arthritis. This study investigated the relationship between childhood physical abuse and osteoarthritis (OA) while controlling for age, sex, race, and socioeconomic status (SES), in addition to the following types of risk factors for OA: 1) concurrent childhood stressors, 2) adult health behaviors, and 3) depression. Methods: Data from the provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan were selected from the 2005 Canadian Community Health Survey (n = 13,093). Respondents with missing arthritis data or with arthritis types other than OA were excluded (n = 1,985). Of the 11,108 remaining respondents, 6.9% (n = 854) reported childhood physical abuse by someone close to them, and 10.1% (n = 1,452) reported that they had been diagnosed with OA by a health professional. The regional-level response rate was 84%. Results: When adjusting for all 3 types of risk factors, a significant association between childhood physical abuse and OA was found (odds ratio [OR] 1.56, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 1.21–2.00). In contrast, when adjusting for age, sex, race, and SES only, the OR was 1.99 (95% CI 1.57–2.52). Conclusion: The association between childhood physical abuse and OA remained significant, even after controlling for many risk factors that may mediate the relationship. Further research is needed to investigate potential pathways through which arthritis develops as a consequence of childhood physical abuse.