Adults may have an increased risk of requiring a hip replacement as a result of osteoarthritis if they were born prematurely or had a low birth weight, a new study suggests.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common type of arthritis. Symptoms include pain, stiffness and swelling in the joints and most Irish people over the age of 55 have evidence of the condition at some joint in their body.

"Currently there are no disease-modifying medications available to treat OA, which makes understanding the risk factors associated with OA so important for improving prevention of this disabling disease," commented the study's lead investigator, Prof Flavia Cicuttini, of Monash University in Australia.

The study looked at over 3,600 people aged 40 or older. All provided details about their weight at birth and whether they had been delivered prematurely. Records on knee and hip replacements as a result of OA were also assessed.

The researchers found that people who had been delivered prematurely or had a low birth weight were more likely to have undergone a hip replacement as a result of OA. These results were irrespective of other risk factors for OA such as age, smoking and body mass index (BMI).

However, those born prematurely or with a low birth weight did not appear to have an increased risk of requiring a knee replacement as a result of OA.

"Our findings suggest that individuals born prematurely or with low birth weight are more likely to need hip replacement surgery for OA in adulthood. While further investigation is needed to confirm these findings, identifying those at greatest risk for hip OA and providing early interventions may help reduce the incidence of this debilitating disease," Prof Cicuttini said.

Details of these findings are published in the journal, Arthritis Care & Research.