Osteoarthritis is not more prevalent in black people. But one exception to this is knee osteoarthritis, which affects black women more often than women in other ethnic groups. Researchers do not know why this is the case.
Age, not race, is the main risk factor for osteoarthritis. The disease is most common in people over age 45.
Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of arthritis among African-Americans, but it isn't any more prevalent among them than it is among all other Americans. African-Americans are more likely than the overall population to get two other forms of arthritis, gout and lupus.
Ethnic and racial groups have patterns of risk of osteoarthritis that vary depending on the joint. For example, Asians generally have a lower risk of osteoarthritis of most joints, except for knee joints, than do Caucasians. Asians have a higher risk of osteoarthritis of the knee joint than do Caucasians.
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