Search

Objective: Osteoarthritis-related changes in joint space measurements over time are small and sensitive to measurement error. The Reliable Change Index (RCI) determines whether the magnitude of change observed in an individual can be attributed to true change. This study aimed to examine the RCI as a novel approach to estimating osteoarthritis progression., Methods: Data were from 167 men and 392 women with knee osteoarthritis (diagnosed using the American College of Rheumatology criteria) randomized to the placebo arm of the 3-year Strontium Ranelate Efficacy in Knee Osteoarthritis trial (SEKOIA) and assessed annually. The RCI was used to determine whether the magnitude of change in joint space width (JSW) on radiographs between study years was likely to be true or due to measurement error., Results: Between consecutive years, 57-69% of participants had an apparent decrease (change <0) in JSW, while 31-43% of participants had annual changes indicating improvement in JSW. The RCI identified JSW decreases in only 6.0% of patients between baseline and year 1, and in 4.5% of patients between the remaining study years. The apparent increases in JSW were almost eliminated between baseline and year 1, and between years 1 and 2 only 1.3% of patients had a significant increase, dropping to 0.9% between years 2 and 3., Conclusion: The RCI provides a method to identify change in JSW, removing many apparent changes that are likely to be due to measurement error. This method appears to be useful for assessing change in JSW from radiographs in clinical and research settings., (© 2018, American College of Rheumatology.)

Objective: Malalignment is associated with knee osteoarthritis (KOA), however, the optimal anatomic axis (AA) knee alignment measurement on a standard limb radiograph (SLR) is unknown. This study compares one-point (1P) and two-point (2P) AA methods using three knee joint centre locations and examines cross-sectional associations with symptomatic radiographic knee osteoarthritis (SRKOA), radiographic knee osteoarthritis (RKOA) and knee pain., Methods: AA alignment was measured six different ways using the KneeMorf software on 1058 SLRs from 584 women in the Chingford Study. Cross-sectional associations with principal outcome SRKOA combined with greatest reproducibility determined the optimal 1P and 2P AA method. Appropriate varus/neutral/valgus alignment categories were established using logistic regression with generalised estimating equation models fitted with restricted cubic spline function., Results: The tibial plateau centre displayed greatest reproducibility and associations with SRKOA. As mean 1P and 2P values differed by >2°, new alignment categories were generated for 1P: varus <178°, neutral 178-182°, valgus >182° and for 2P methods: varus <180°, neutral 180-185°, valgus >185°. Varus vs neutral alignment was associated with a near 2-fold increase in SRKOA and RKOA, and valgus vs neutral for RKOA using 2P method. Nonsignificant associations were seen for 1P method for SRKOA, RKOA and knee pain., Conclusions: AA alignment was associated with SRKOA and the tibial plateau centre had the strongest association. Differences in AA alignment when 1P vs 2P methods were compared indicated bespoke alignment categories were necessary. Further replication and validation with mechanical axis alignment comparison is required., (Crown Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To establish the natural history of radiographic knee osteoarthritis (OA) over 14 years in a community-based cohort., Methods: We examined women from the Chingford Women's Study, a community-based cohort followed up for more than 14 years. We selected women for whom bilateral radiographs of the knees (with the legs in full extension) were obtained at approximately 5-year intervals. Radiographs were scored for OA in a blinded manner, using Kellgren/Lawrence (K/L) grades. Descriptive statistics and odds ratios (ORs) were used to compare the incidence, worsening, and progression of radiographic knee OA., Results: A complete radiography series was available for 561 of the original 1,003 subjects enrolled in the study. The median age of these subjects at baseline was 53 years (interquartile range 48-58 years). At baseline, 13.7% of the subjects had radiographic knee OA (K/L grade≥2) in at least one knee, and the prevalence increased to 47.8% by year 15. The annual cumulative incidence of radiographic knee OA was 2.3% between baseline and year 15. The annual rates of disease progression and worsening between baseline and year 15 were 2.8% and 3.0%, respectively. Subjects with a K/L grade of 1 at baseline were more likely to experience worsening by year 15 compared with subjects with a baseline grade of 0 (OR 4.5, 95% confidence interval 2.7-7.4)., Conclusion: This is the longest natural history study of radiographic knee OA to date. The results showed relatively low rates for the incidence and progression of radiographic knee OA; more than half of all subjects had no radiographic evidence of knee OA over a 15-year period of time. Subjects with a baseline K/L grade of 1 were more likely than subjects with other baseline K/L grades to experience worsening of knee OA., (Copyright © 2012 by the American College of Rheumatology.)

Objective: To describe the temporal patterns of knee pain in a community-based cohort over 12 years., Methods: Data on self-reported knee pain at 4 time points over 12 years were analyzed in participants from the Chingford Women's Study of osteoarthritis (OA) and osteoporosis. Pain status was defined as any pain in the preceding month and pain on most days in the preceding month. This status was used to classify participants according to pain patterns of asymptomatic, persistent, incident, or intermittent pain. Multinomial logistic regression was used to identify baseline predictors for each pain pattern., Results: Among the 489 women with complete followup data, the median age at baseline was 52 years (interquartile range [IQR] 48-58 years), the median body mass index (BMI) was 24.39 kg/m(2) (IQR 22.46-27.20), and 11.7% of the women had a Kellgren/Lawrence radiographic OA severity grade of ≥2 in at least one knee. Among subjects reporting any pain in the preceding month versus those reporting pain on most days in the preceding month, 9% versus 2% had persistent pain, 24% versus 16% had incident pain, and 29% versus 18% had intermittent pain. A higher BMI was predictive of persistent pain (odds ratio [OR] 1.14, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 1.04-1.25) and incident pain (OR 1.10, 95% CI 1.02-1.18). The presence of radiographic knee OA was predictive of persistent pain (OR 3.70, 95% CI 1.34-10.28; P = 0.012), and reported knee injury was predictive of both persistent pain (OR 4.13, 95% CI 1.34-12.66; P = 0.013) and intermittent pain (OR 4.25, 95% CI 1.81-9.98; P = 0.001)., Conclusion: Significant variability in the temporal fluctuation of self-reported knee pain was seen in this community-based prospective study over a period of 12 years, with few women consistently reporting knee pain at each time point. Distinct baseline predictors for each pain pattern were identified and may explain the observed heterogeneity of self-reported knee pain when pain status is measured at only one time point., (Copyright © 2012 by the American College of Rheumatology.)