Editing Arthritis (section)

== Risk factors ==
There are common risk factors that increase a person's chance of developing arthritis later in adulthood. Some of these are modifiable while others are not.<ref name=niams/><ref name=cdc-ar/>

Some common risk factors that can increase the chances of developing osteoarthritis include obesity, prior injury to the joint, type of joint, and muscle strength.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Vina |first1=Ernest R. |last2=Kwoh |first2=C. Kent |date=March 2018 |title=Epidemiology of Osteoarthritis: Literature Update |journal=Current Opinion in Rheumatology |volume=30 |issue=2 |pages=160–167 |doi=10.1097/BOR.0000000000000479 |issn=1040-8711 |pmc=5832048 |pmid=29227353}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Christensen |first1=Robin |last2=Bartels |first2=Else Marie |last3=Astrup |first3=Arne |last4=Bliddal |first4=Henning |date=April 2007 |title=Effect of weight reduction in obese patients diagnosed with knee osteoarthritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis |journal=Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases |volume=66 |issue=4 |pages=433–439 |doi=10.1136/ard.2006.065904 |issn=0003-4967 |pmc=1856062 |pmid=17204567}}</ref>

The risk factors with the strongest association for developing inflammatory arthritis (such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus arthritis) are the female sex, a family history, age, obesity, joint damage from a previous injury, and exposure to tobacco smoke.<ref name=mayo/><ref>{{Citation |last1=Chauhan |first1=Krati |title=Rheumatoid Arthritis |date=2025 |work=StatPearls |url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK441999/ |access-date=2025-01-24 |place=Treasure Island (FL) |publisher=StatPearls Publishing |pmid=28723028 |last2=Jandu |first2=Jagmohan S. |last3=Brent |first3=Lawrence H. |last4=Al-Dhahir |first4=Mohammed A.}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Deane KD, Demoruelle MK, Kelmenson LB, Kuhn KA, Norris JM, Holers VM |date=February 2017 |title=Genetic and environmental risk factors for rheumatoid arthritis |journal=Best Practice & Research. Clinical Rheumatology |volume=31 |issue=1 |pages=3–18 |doi=10.1016/j.berh.2017.08.003 |pmc=5726551 |pmid=29221595}}</ref>

Smoking has been linked to an increased susceptibility of developing arthritis, particularly rheumatoid arthritis.<ref>{{cite web |title=Smoking and Rheumatoid Arthritis |url=https://www.nras.org.uk/smoking-and-rheumatoid-arthritis |website=NRAS |publisher=National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society |access-date=20 November 2020}}</ref>