TUESDAY, April 6 (HealthDayNews) -- Prolonged squatting increases the risk of osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee, says a study in the April issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism.

Knee OA, which erodes the cartilage of the knee joint, is a leading cause of chronic disability among older Americans. It's also common among elderly Asians, especially women.

In this study, an international team of researchers examined the link between knee OA among Chinese people and squatting, a common daily posture for them.

Of the 2,269 people (all older than 60) studied, 40 percent of the men and 68 percent of the women reported they routinely squatted for more than an hour a day at age 25. Among these people, the prevalence and severity of knee OA was much greater than among people who reported they squatted for 30 minutes or less each day when they were younger.

The researchers compared their findings with data on white Americans and found that, on average, Chinese women were 9.5 percent more likely to be afflicted with tibiofemoral OA (a form of knee OA) than their white American counterparts. Chinese men were 5.4 percent more likely than white American men to have tibiofemoral OA.

The study authors concluded that prolonged squatting in youth is a strong, independent risk factor for knee OA in old age.

More information

The American Medical Association has more about knee OA.