Published Online First

Several epidemiological and experimental data support the hypothesis that diabetes could be an independent risk factor for osteoarthritis (OA), at least in some patients, leading to the concept of a diabetes-induced OA phenotype. If confi rmed, this new paradigm will have a dramatic impact on prevention of OA initiation and progression. Osteoarthritis (OA) is the leading cause of musculo-skeletal handicap in the world. Ageing and obesity are the two main risk factors for OA. Since preva-lence of these conditions are going to exponentially expand, an epidemic of the disease in the next decade is expected, leading to a dramatic increase in the number of total joint replacements and so entail