Is Tibiofemoral Osteoarthritis in the Knee Joint a New Disease?
Overview
Affiliations
Objectives: To compare the prevalence of osteoarthritis (OA) of the hip, tibiofemoral and patellofemoral joints in a skeletal population.
Methods: A total of 785 adult English skeletons (695 Saxon or Mediaeval origin) were examined for OA using established criteria.
Results: Twenty nine skeletons had hip OA, compared with 14 with patellofemoral joint OA, and only four tibiofemoral joint OA.
Conclusion: Tibiofemoral OA was far less prevalent in ancient skeletons than hip or patellofemoral disease. Tibiofemoral OA may be a 'new' disease.
Knee osteoarthritis has doubled in prevalence since the mid-20th century.
Wallace I, Worthington S, Felson D, Jurmain R, Wren K, Maijanen H Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2017; 114(35):9332-9336.
PMID: 28808025 PMC: 5584421. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1703856114.
Lagier R Clin Rheumatol. 2005; 25(2):127-31.
PMID: 16374573 DOI: 10.1007/s10067-004-1055-8.
Diagnosis of osteoarthritis. Guidelines and current pitfalls.
Balint G, Szebenyi B Drugs. 1996; 52 Suppl 3:1-13.
PMID: 8911794 DOI: 10.2165/00003495-199600523-00003.
Occurrence of osteoarthritis of the peripheral joints in European populations.
Petersson I Ann Rheum Dis. 1996; 55(9):659-61.
PMID: 8882143 PMC: 1010270. DOI: 10.1136/ard.55.9.659.