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Atrophic Phenotype of OA and Disease Progression

Osteoarthritis Cartilage; ePub 2017 Jun 9; Crema, et al

The atrophic phenotype of knee osteoarthritis (OA) was associated with a decreased likelihood of progression of joint space narrowing (JSN) and cartilage loss compared to the non-atrophic knee OA phenotype, a recent study found. Participants of the Multicenter Osteoarthritis (MOST) Study with available radiographic and MRI assessments at baseline and 30 months were included (476 knees from 432 participants). Researchers found:

  • There were 50 (10.5%) knees with atrophic OA using the radiographic definition, and 16 (3.4%) knees with atrophic OA using MRI definition.
  • Non-atrophic OA knees more commonly exhibited fast progression of JSN and cartilage damage.
  • Logistic regression showed that the atrophic phenotype of knee OA was associated with a decreased likelihood of progression of JSN and cartilage loss.

Citation:

Crema MD, Felson DT, Guermazi A, et al. Is the atrophic phenotype of tibiofemoral osteoarthritis associated with faster progression of disease? The MOST study. [Published online ahead of print June 9, 2017]. Osteoarthritis Cartilage. doi:10.1016/j.joca.2017.05.019.