Having knee osteoarthritis may increase your risk of cardiovascular disease, according to a new study. Reducing the amount and duration of exercise due to knee pain appears to raise a red flag for cardiovascular disease prevention.

St. Vincent’s Hospital at Catholic University announced today that a team led by Dr. Do-Joon Park (pictured), professor of orthopaedic surgery, published a study in the latest issue of the international journal Scientific Reports that analyzed the risk of developing cardiovascular disease based on the presence of knee arthritis. The researchers utilized data from the National Health Insurance Service health checkups of 214,666 Korean adults aged 50 and older who underwent health checkups from 2009 to 2015.

They found that people with knee osteoarthritis had a 1.26 times higher risk of cardiovascular disease, 1.2 times higher risk of myocardial infarction, and 1.29 times higher risk of stroke compared to the general population. However, compared to non-exercising controls, those with knee osteoarthritis who did not exercise had a 1.25-fold increased risk of cardiovascular events, while those with knee osteoarthritis who exercised at least once a week had no significant increase in risk. This suggests that 20 to 30 minutes of exercise once a week may be effective in preventing cardiovascular disease in people with knee osteoarthritis먹튀검증.

The analysis also showed that people with knee osteoarthritis at younger ages were at greater risk of developing cardiovascular disease. While aging is generally considered a major contributor to both knee osteoarthritis and cardiovascular disease, this study found that those with knee osteoarthritis under the age of 65 (1.38 times) had a higher risk of cardiovascular disease than those with knee osteoarthritis over the age of 65 (1.17 times). The researchers interpreted this as a result of the longer duration of knee osteoarthritis at a younger age, combined with a lack of exercise, putting people at greater risk for serious complications such as cardiovascular disease. “We found that regular exercise is effective for prevention,” said Dr. Dojun Park, “and it is important for younger knee osteoarthritis patients, especially those with a longer prevalence, to continue to exercise and lead a healthy lifestyle to lower their risk of complications such as cardiovascular disease.”