FRIDAY, Sept. 5 (HealthDay News) -- Almost half of all American adults will develop osteoarthritis of the knee by age 85, and their odds increase if they are obese in middle age, a new study says.

A person's risk of having the painful condition increased as his or her body-mass index (BMI) rose, according to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill study. People who were of normal weight at age 18 but were overweight or obese by 45 or older had the greatest risk.

As women, we are probably all aware of the importance of getting an annual exam, and for those of us over 40, a yearly mammogram.

But what about an annual bone density test? How many of you out there who are over 40 have gotten one of those lately?

CHICAGO - New research linking low vitamin D levels with deaths from heart disease and other causes bolsters mounting evidence about the "sunshine" vitamin's role in good health.

Patients with the lowest blood levels of vitamin D were about two times more likely to die from any cause during the next eight years than those with the highest levels, the study found. The link with heart-related deaths was particularly strong in those with low vitamin D levels.

I have arthritis associated with lupus, and also rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. So, I'm accustomed to dealing with a variety of aches and pains due to these conditions. I'm currently on contract at a State agency and read a wonderful story in this week's newsletter about the agency's Arthritis Program Coordinator.

Chickens may help scientists better understand severe allergic reactions in people and develop new ways to prevent or treat these potentially deadly attacks.

Researchers at King's College London in the U.K. found that chickens have a "fossilized" version of the main molecule responsible for severe allergic reactions in people, BBC News reported.

The IgY molecule in chickens may be an ancient predecessor of a similar human molecule called IgE, which plays a major role in asthma attacks and anaphylactic shock.

Over the weekend, my mother casually stated that her arthritis has been bothering her. "What arthritis?" I asked her.

My mother is a very active woman just months away from her 80th birthday. She tries to walk 10,000 steps every day (we once calculated that to be a little over 2 miles for her). She has done 5-10Ks, knits lovely things for people and has beautiful hands with long tapered fingers. When she showed me her fingers, I was shocked that I had not noticed, before, that her knuckles were slightly deformed.