PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Reichenbach, Stephan
AU  - Dieppe, Paul A
AU  - Nüesch, Eveline
AU  - Williams, Susan
AU  - Villiger, Peter M
AU  - Jüni, Peter
TI  - Association of bone attrition with knee pain, stiffness and disability: a cross-sectional study
AID  - 10.1136/ard.2010.132985
DP  - 2011 Feb 01
TA  - Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases
PG  - 293--298
VI  - 70
IP  - 2
4099  - http://ard.bmj.com/content/70/2/293.short
4100  - http://ard.bmj.com/content/70/2/293.full
SO  - Ann Rheum Dis2011 Feb 01; 70
AB  - Objectives Bone pathologies as detected on MRI are associated with the presence of pain in knee osteoarthritis (OA). The authors examined whether bone attrition assessed on x-rays was associated with pain, stiffness and disability. Methods The authors analysed x-rays of 1326 knees with OA from 783 individuals participating in the cross-sectional population-based Somerset and Avon Survey of Health. The diagnosis of OA was defined by the presence of osteophytes in anteroposterior (AP) or lateral views. Bone attrition was graded from 0 (no attrition) to 3 (severe attrition &amp;gt;10 mm) and Kellgren and Lawrence (K/L) scores were assigned on AP views. Logistic regression models adjusted for gender, age, body mass index, effusion and K/L scores were used to determine whether bone attrition was associated with pain, stiffness and disability. Results Pain was reported in 84 knees (74%) with radiographic bone attrition compared with 505 (42%) without bone attrition (adjusted OR 2.22, 95% CI 1.29 to 3.80). The adjusted OR was increased for day pain but not for night pain (p for interaction &amp;lt;0.001). Stiffness was reported for 85 knees with bone attrition (75%) and 437 knees without (36%) (adjusted OR 3.23, 95% CI 1.85 to 5.64). Disability was reported by 40 individuals with bone attrition (50%) and 140 individuals without (24%) (adjusted OR 2.09, 95% CI 1.19 to 3.68). Conclusions Bone attrition detected on conventional x-rays using a simple cheap technique is strongly associated with the presence of day pain, stiffness and disability in knee OA.