Margaret Lethbridge-Cejku

Familial aggregation of osteoarthritis: Data from the Baltimore longitudinal study on aging

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the familial aggregation of osteoarthritis (OA) in a cohort of healthy volunteers drawn from a community setting. METHODS Hand radiographs obtained between 1978 and 1991 and bilateral standing knee radiographs obtained between 1984 and 1991 were read for changes of OA, using Kellgren-Lawrence (K-L) scales. The hand sites were distal interphalangeal (DIP) joints, proximal interphalangeal (PIP) joints, and first carpometacarpal (CMC1) joints. For each joint group, the presence of OA in at least 1 joint in a joint group, the number of affected digits in each joint group, and the sum of the K-L grade across all joints were analyzed. Polyarticular OA was recorded if there were OA findings in 2 of 3 hand joint groups plus 1 or both knees. Data from 167 families with hand radiographs, 157 families with knee radiographs, and 148 families with both hand and knee radiographs were analyzed for sib-sib correlations. RESULTS After adjustment for age, sex, and body mass index, clinically relevant sib-sib common correlations were found for OA of the DIP, PIP, and CMC1 joints, for OA at 2 or 3 hand sites, and for polyarticular OA (r = 0.33-0.81) when OA was defined according to the number of affected joints or as the sum of the K-L grade across all joints. CONCLUSION These results from a cohort of volunteers drawn from a community setting and ascertained without regard to OA status demonstrate familial aggregation of OA and contribute to the evidence for heritability of OA.

Reliability of grading scales for individual radiographic features of osteoarthritis of the knee: The Baltimore longitudinal study of aging atlas of knee osteoarthritis

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES The authors present an atlas of individual radiographic features of osteoarthritis of the knee and evaluate the inter- and intra-reader reliability of trained readers using this atlas. METHODS Four trained readers graded 30 standing anterior-posterior knee radiographs for eight selected features of osteoarthritis (medial and lateral osteophytes, joint space narrowing, and sclerosis; osteophytes of the tibial spines and chondrocalcinosis) as well as the Kellgren-Lawrence global scale. Inter- and intra-reader reliability were calculated using intraclass correlation coefficients. RESULTS For all features except sclerosis and osteophytes of the tibial spines, inter-reader reliability ranged from 0.63 to 0.83, whereas intra-reader reliability ranged from 0.82 to 0.95. CONCLUSION Using this atlas, trained readers are reliable in measuring the presence and severity of individual radiographic features of osteoarthritis of the knee. This atlas should be useful in clinical and epidemiologic studies of osteoarthritis of the knee.

Association of hand and knee osteoarthritis: evidence for a polyarticular disease subset.

OBJECTIVE--To examine the association between hand and knee osteoarthritis (OA) in a community based population. METHODS--Radiographs of 695 participants aged > or = 40 years in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging were read for changes of OA, using Kellgren-Lawrence grade > or = 2 as the case definition. RESULTS--Logistic regression analyses, adjusting for age, gender and body mass index, revealed a significant association between OA in the knee and the following joint groups: distal and proximal interphalangeal (DIP, PIP) and Hand2 (OA in two or more hand joint groups) for grade 2-4 and grade 3-4 disease, and the first carpometacarpal (CMC1) joint for grade 3-4 disease. CONCLUSION--There is an association between OA in hand sites and the knee. The strength of the associations increases with increasing disease severity. For the PIP site, there is a trend toward increasing strength of association for increasing numbers of affected joints and bilateral disease.

Obesity and osteoarthritis of the hands in women

The association of obesity and body fat distribution with hand osteoarthritis was studied in 317 Caucasian female subjects aged 40 years and above in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging. Bilateral hand radiographs taken between 1978 and 1991 were read by one investigator for grade of osteoarthritis using Kellgren-Lawrence scales. Possible risk factors, assessed at same visit as the first radiograph during this interval, included age and measures of obesity, per cent body fat, and fat distribution. Results of bivariate analyses showed that increasing grade of hand osteoarthritis was associated with increasing age, greater mean levels of waist-hip ratio and per cent body fat; there was no association with body mass index. After adjustment for age, however, none of these independent variables remained significantly associated with grade of hand osteoarthritis. These data fail to support hypotheses that measures of obesity are associated with hand osteoarthritis in women independent of their known age-related changes.

The relationship of age and gender to prevalence and pattern of radiographic changes of osteoarthritis of the knee: Data from Caucasian participants in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging

The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence and pattern of radiographic changes of osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee by age and gender in Caucasian participants in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging. Bilateral standing weight- bearing radiographs of the knee in 547 male and 351 female subjects (aged 20 and above) were read for changes of knee OA using Kellgren- Lawrence and individual features scales. Prevalence of definite (Kellgren- Lawrence grade ⩾2 changes) knee OA increased with advancing age in both sexes. Approximately 50 percent in both sexes showed bilateral involvement. Men aged 59 and below were more likely to have unilateral impairment than men aged 60 and above; no such differences were found in females. These data demonstrate that age and gender influence both the prevalence and pattern of radiographie changes of knee OA. (Aging Clin. Exp. Res. 6: 353–357, 1994).

95 – Osteoarthritis and Other Musculoskeletal Diseases

This chapter discusses the most common chronic diseases, arthritis and musculoskeletal in the United States. In women, the prevalence of self-reported arthritis increased with increasing age; the majority of women aged 65 and above reported the presence of an arthritis diagnosis. Age-adjusted prevalence was higher in women of non-Hispanic than of Hispanic ethnicity; there was no difference in age-adjusted prevalence between whites and blacks, but prevalence was lower in Asians. The impact of arthritis in women in the United States can be estimated by examining its relationship with disability and its associated economic costs. Musculoskeletal diseases such as arthritis are a heavy economic burden in the United States and in other developed countries. The total cost of arthritis to the US economy in 1988 (including inpatient and outpatient care, nursing home care, medications, and lost productivity) was estimated at 54.6 billion dollars; in 1992, this figure was 64.8 dollars. Less than a quarter of these costs are due to direct medical care, including inpatient and outpatient hospital and physician charges, and costs of pharmaceuticals. The vast majority of costs are attributable to indirect costs, predominantly due to lost wages.