Characteristics of participants by arthritis.

ObjectiveTo investigate the association between vapor pressure deficit (VPD) and arthritis in middle-aged and older Chinese adults.MethodsThis study utilized data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Survey (CHARLS) spanning the years 2011–2020. Participants without arthritis in 2011 were selected as the study population, with VPD designated as the primary exposure factor and newly diagnosed arthritis cases as the outcome variable. Logistic regression models were used to estimate the association between VPD and incident arthritis. Restricted cubic spline (RCS) analyses were conducted to assess potential nonlinearity. Subgroup analyses were performed to examine effect heterogeneity across population subgroups.ResultsA total of 4615 subjects were included, and a total of 1317 subjects were reported to be diagnosed with arthritis during approximately 10 years of follow-up (2011–2020). The VPD level in the arthritis group was lower than that in the non-arthritis group (5.184 ± 0.828 vs 5.291 ± 0.818, p ConclusionVPD was found to be negatively associated with the incidence of arthritis among middle-aged and elderly populations, with a particularly stronger effect observed in rural residents. These findings highlight VPD as an environmental factor associated with arthritis and may help improve understanding of environmental influences on arthritis development.