@article{aab2e96c-00cb-4592-9d54-abb66c792d71,
  abstract     = {{<p>Objective: To describe longitudinal changes of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) features in the medial vs lateral tibiofemoral (TF) and patellofemoral (PF) compartments, in knees with no radiographic osteoarthritis (OA) at baseline. Design: In 340 individuals from the Osteoarthritis Initiative aged 45–55 years (51% women) with 430 knees at risk for OA and 250 not at risk, we assessed MRI scans of both knees using the MRI OA Knee Score system. A change in a feature from baseline to 6 years was defined as ≥1 grade increase in ≥1 subregion. We compared risk for structural changes across knee compartments and by risk status using mixed effects Poisson regression. Results: MRI changes over 6 years were common, with 89% of persons (76% of knees) showing increased cartilage damage, 50% (37%) in osteophytes, 75% (57%) in Bone Marrow Lesions (BMLs), and 28% (18%) with meniscal damage. Changes were most common in the PF joint, with risk ratios (RR) vs lateral TF joint of 2.4 (95% CI 1.9–3.0) for cartilage damage, 1.3 (1.2–1.5) for osteophytes and 2.8 (2.3–3.4) for BMLs. The risk of meniscal damage in the medial TF was higher compared to the lateral TF (RR 2.8 [1.9–4.1]). At-risk knee status was associated with an increased risk of meniscal damage (RR 1.8 [1.2–2.7]) but weakly with changes in cartilage damage, osteophytes, or BMLs. Conclusion: Increase in structural damage occurs in majority of knees with Kellgren-Lawrence 0 at baseline, irrespectively of presence of OA risk factors. Most early changes occurred in the PF joint.</p>}},
  author       = {{Magnusson, Karin and Turkiewicz, Aleksandra and Paemre, Jaanika and Mahmoudian, Armaghan and Englund, Martin}},
  issn         = {{1063-4584}},
  keywords     = {{Bone marrow lesions; Cartilage damage; Early-stage osteoarthritis; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Meniscal damage; Osteophytes}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{4}},
  pages        = {{607--613}},
  publisher    = {{W.B. Saunders}},
  series       = {{Osteoarthritis and Cartilage}},
  title        = {{Observations of early structural changes over 6 years on magnetic resonance imaging in knees without radiographic osteoarthritis}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.joca.2025.12.003}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.joca.2025.12.003}},
  volume       = {{34}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}