Prevention and Safety of Medical Treatment are The Key to Improve The Quality of Life of OA Patients

Around 800 people attended the 3rd International Congress for Patients with Osteoarthritis from October 3^rd to October 5^th 2019, held at the Axa auditorium in Barcelona. For the third time, the event has brought together patients, healthcare personnel (doctors, nurses, pharmacists, physiotherapists, nutritionists) and researchers in a unique forum where they have shared their experiences with the latest advances in scientific research.

Under the slogan “Women and OA” OAFI wanted to give a special prominence to patient testimonies and how women with OA are thriving to make visible that it is a gender disease. It is estimated that two out of three patients with OA are women. Thus, in Spain, 23.5% of women over 15 suffer from OA.

These have been some of the conclusions from the III International Congress for Patients with Osteoarthritis 2019:

• In Spain, 7 million people suffer from osteoarthritis, an inflammatory, chronic, systemic disease with cardiovascular involvement. It is a serious, gender-based disease, since it is estimated that two out of three patients with osteoarthritis are women.

• Make public administration aware of the importance of placing patients at the center of the health-care management model, so that people can take care of their joints practicing different disease prevention programs.

• People with osteoarthritis should follow prescribed treatments as they often have other medical conditions as well, called comorbidities, and in many cases they are also polymedicated.

• The efficacy and safety of medical treatments with cell therapy in osteoarthritis is still uncertain. Nevertheless, the use of SYSADOAs (Symptomatic Slow Action Drugs for Osteoarthritis) for the treatment of OA have shown to reduce pain, stiffness and have a good safety profile.

• Although research in this disease has increased in recent years, it is important to devote more resources to R&D because there is a tsunami coming that is affecting us.

We thank all attendees, speakers, volunteers, companies and collaborators to make possible once again the celebration of the Congress.

The success of # OAFICONGRESS19 has appeared in the media. Thank you all for making the situation of osteoarthritis patients visible.

Osteoarthritis today

Osteoarthritis currently affects 300 million people worldwide, 7 million in Spain.   Due to aging of population, this figure has been doubled in the last 30 years and the number of cases is expected to continue to increase due to an aging population.

Recent studies reveal that osteoarthritis is a chronic and systemic inflammatory disease, with cardiovascular involvement. OA is a degenerative joint disease that affects both cartilage and bone and soft tissues of the joint.

Currently, osteoarthritis represents an average annual cost of 4,738 million euros for the Spanish healthcare system (focusing only on knee and hip osteoarthritis) and, despite its prevalence, it remains an unknown disease for the majority of the population.

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Osteoarthritis, Ostheoarthritis knee arthritis, OAFIwoman, Quality of life, Sport, Depression, pain, International Foundation of Osteoarthritis, OAFI Foundation, Research, Josep Verges, Prevention, joint health