Association of long-term use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs with knee osteoarthritis: a prospective multi-cohort study over 4-to-5 years

This study examines the long-term impact of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) on the progression of symptoms and structural deterioration of the joint in knee osteoarthritis. The study analyzes data from 4197 participants (8394 knees) across the Osteoarthritis Initiative (OAI), Multicenter Osteoarthritis Study (MOST), and Cohort Hip and Cohort Knee (CHECK) over 4-to-5 years. Adjustments were made for major covariates. We focussed on binary outcomes to assess the presence or absence of significant changes. We found that, relative to non-users, individuals using NSAIDs long-term were significantly more likely to experience aggravated symptoms exceeding the minimally clinically important difference, specifically, pain (OR: 2.04, 95% CI: 1.66–2.49), disability (OR: 2.21, 95% CI: 1.74–2.80), and stiffness (OR: 1.58, 95% CI: 1.29–1.93). Long-term users also faced a higher probability than non-users of having total knee replacement (OR: 3.13, 95% CI: 2.08–4.70), although no significant difference between long-term users and non-users was observed for structural deterioration in the knee joint (OR: 1.25, 95% CI: 0.94–1.65). While acknowledging the limitations of this study due to its observational design and the potential for bidirectional causality, these findings suggest that long-term NSAID use could accelerate the progression to total knee replacement by markedly exacerbating symptoms.