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Prevalence of abnormalities in knees detected by MRI in adults without knee osteoarthritis: population based observational study (Framingham Osteoarthritis Study)

Guermazi, Ali ; Niu, Jingbo ; Hayashi, Daichi ; Roemer, Frank W. ; Englund, Martin LU orcid ; Neogi, Tuhina ; Aliabadi, Piran ; McLennan, Christine E. and Felson, David T. (2012) In BMJ: British Medical Journal 345. p.5339-5339
Abstract
Objective To examine use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of knees with no radiographic evidence of osteoarthritis to determine the prevalence of structural lesions associated with osteoarthritis and their relation to age, sex, and obesity. Design Population based observational study. Setting Community cohort in Framingham, MA, United States (Framingham osteoarthritis study). Participants 710 people aged >50 who had no radiographic evidence of knee osteoarthritis (Kellgren-Lawrence grade 0) and who underwent MRI of the knee. Main outcome measures Prevalence of MRI findings that are suggestive of knee osteoarthritis (osteophytes, cartilage damage, bone marrow lesions, subchondral cysts, meniscal lesions, synovitis, attrition, and... (More)
Objective To examine use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of knees with no radiographic evidence of osteoarthritis to determine the prevalence of structural lesions associated with osteoarthritis and their relation to age, sex, and obesity. Design Population based observational study. Setting Community cohort in Framingham, MA, United States (Framingham osteoarthritis study). Participants 710 people aged >50 who had no radiographic evidence of knee osteoarthritis (Kellgren-Lawrence grade 0) and who underwent MRI of the knee. Main outcome measures Prevalence of MRI findings that are suggestive of knee osteoarthritis (osteophytes, cartilage damage, bone marrow lesions, subchondral cysts, meniscal lesions, synovitis, attrition, and ligamentous lesions) in all participants and after stratification by age, sex, body mass index (BMI), and the presence or absence of knee pain. Pain was assessed by three different questions and also by WOMAC questionnaire. Results Of the 710 participants, 393 (55%) were women, 660 (93%) were white, and 206 (29%) had knee pain in the past month. The mean age was 62.3 years and mean BMI was 27.9. Prevalence of "any abnormality" was 89% (631/710) overall. Osteophytes were the most common abnormality among all participants (74%, 524/710), followed by cartilage damage (69%, 492/710) and bone marrow lesions (52%, 371/710). The higher the age, the higher the prevalence of all types of abnormalities detectable by MRI. There were no significant differences in the prevalence of any of the features between BMI groups. The prevalence of at least one type of pathology ("any abnormality") was high in both painful (90-97%, depending on pain definition) and painless (86-88%) knees. Conclusions MRI shows lesions in the tibiofemoral joint in most middle aged and elderly people in whom knee radiographs do not show any features of osteoarthritis, regardless of pain. (Less)
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author
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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
BMJ: British Medical Journal
volume
345
pages
5339 - 5339
publisher
BMJ Publishing Group
external identifiers
  • wos:000311050600002
  • scopus:84866276511
ISSN
1756-1833
DOI
10.1136/bmj.e5339
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
251426f5-487f-44d5-b81c-171df6bf60c2 (old id 3400336)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 10:08:35
date last changed
2022-04-27 18:47:44
@article{251426f5-487f-44d5-b81c-171df6bf60c2,
  abstract     = {{Objective To examine use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of knees with no radiographic evidence of osteoarthritis to determine the prevalence of structural lesions associated with osteoarthritis and their relation to age, sex, and obesity. Design Population based observational study. Setting Community cohort in Framingham, MA, United States (Framingham osteoarthritis study). Participants 710 people aged >50 who had no radiographic evidence of knee osteoarthritis (Kellgren-Lawrence grade 0) and who underwent MRI of the knee. Main outcome measures Prevalence of MRI findings that are suggestive of knee osteoarthritis (osteophytes, cartilage damage, bone marrow lesions, subchondral cysts, meniscal lesions, synovitis, attrition, and ligamentous lesions) in all participants and after stratification by age, sex, body mass index (BMI), and the presence or absence of knee pain. Pain was assessed by three different questions and also by WOMAC questionnaire. Results Of the 710 participants, 393 (55%) were women, 660 (93%) were white, and 206 (29%) had knee pain in the past month. The mean age was 62.3 years and mean BMI was 27.9. Prevalence of "any abnormality" was 89% (631/710) overall. Osteophytes were the most common abnormality among all participants (74%, 524/710), followed by cartilage damage (69%, 492/710) and bone marrow lesions (52%, 371/710). The higher the age, the higher the prevalence of all types of abnormalities detectable by MRI. There were no significant differences in the prevalence of any of the features between BMI groups. The prevalence of at least one type of pathology ("any abnormality") was high in both painful (90-97%, depending on pain definition) and painless (86-88%) knees. Conclusions MRI shows lesions in the tibiofemoral joint in most middle aged and elderly people in whom knee radiographs do not show any features of osteoarthritis, regardless of pain.}},
  author       = {{Guermazi, Ali and Niu, Jingbo and Hayashi, Daichi and Roemer, Frank W. and Englund, Martin and Neogi, Tuhina and Aliabadi, Piran and McLennan, Christine E. and Felson, David T.}},
  issn         = {{1756-1833}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{5339--5339}},
  publisher    = {{BMJ Publishing Group}},
  series       = {{BMJ: British Medical Journal}},
  title        = {{Prevalence of abnormalities in knees detected by MRI in adults without knee osteoarthritis: population based observational study (Framingham Osteoarthritis Study)}},
  url          = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/1598870/3910883.pdf}},
  doi          = {{10.1136/bmj.e5339}},
  volume       = {{345}},
  year         = {{2012}},
}