The effects of orthopedic pathologies on the prevalence of hip osteoarthritis
OA Version
Citation
Abstract
Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative joint disease that is a leading cause of
disability among aging adults. In the U.S., many individuals living with total hip
arthroplasties attribute OA as the cause. Because the majority of anthropological OA
research excludes pathological individuals (i.e., individuals with systemic disease,
traumatic injuries, or arthroplasties), little is known about how prostheses and pathologies
impact OA. This project adds to the research surrounding OA by investigating its
relationship with age, disease, and prostheses.
The proximal femora of 186 African- and European-American individuals (21-95
years old) from the Edmonds Orthopedic Pathology Collection (National Museum of
Health and Medicine; Armed Forces Institute of Pathology) were analyzed. These
individuals were grouped into three cohorts: non-disease; disease; and previous
injury/prosthesis. Jurmain’s (1990) method was used to score OA, using an ordinal fourpoint
scale to categorize OA changes as: none/slight; moderate; severe; and ankylosis.
Results show that osteoarthritic hip changes are positively correlated with age and
presence of a prosthesis, and that systemic diseases, such as cancer, increase the
likelihood of OA in an individual. Results from Chi-square tests, exploratory data
analysis, and ordinal logistic regression show that there is a statistically significant
relationship (p<0.000) between degree of OA, age, recorded disease, and evidence of
previous injury or prostheses. In contrast with the expectation that different populations
would exhibit different patterns of OA, no sex or ancestry effects are observed. These
results will help researchers better understand the etiology and contemporary risk factors
of OA, as well as contribute data to OA research on an underrepresented sample.