ReviewOsteoarthritis and cartilage2026
Dampened inflammation and reduced risk of osteoarthritis among non-industrialized societies.
Review in Osteoarthritis and cartilage, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
14 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesAnthropological research suggests that people in non-industrialized societies (hunter-gatherers, subsistence farmers, pastoralists) are at lower risk of osteoarthritis than people in industrialized societies. Here, we propose that this may be due to people in non-industrialized societies having dampened inflammatory activity, a key factor in osteoarthritis pathogenesis.
designThis narrative review focuses on evidence that four environmental variables common among non-industrialized societies contribute to dampening inflammatory activity and thus potentially lowering OA risk: low levels of adiposity, high physical activity levels, diets consisting of minimally processed foods, and infections from helminths.
resultsAlthough people in non-industrialized societies experience intermittent, pathogen-induced spikes in inflammation, they do not typically experience the chronic, low-grade pattern of inflammation implicated in osteoarthritis pathogenesis. Excess adipose tissue is well documented to be a potent source of pro-inflammatory mediators involved in osteoarthritis pathogenesis; thus, the rarity of obesity among non-industrialized societies is likely a major reason for any reduced osteoarthritis risk. Physical activity and diet among non-industrialized societies have the potential to curb inflammation and osteoarthritis through several mechanistic pathways, yet the relative importance of each pathway has yet to be fully resolved. A role for helminths in dampening inflammation and lowering OA risk is theoretically plausible but speculative based on current evidence.
conclusionsMore research among non-industrialized societies will be required to rigorously investigate the links proposed here between industrialization, inflammation, and risk of osteoarthritis. Opportunities to do so are disappearing, as lifestyles among such societies are rapidly changing.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.