title: The associations between body and knee height measurements and knee joint structure in an asymptomatic cohort.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  It has been suggested that knee height is a determinant of knee joint load. Nonetheless, no study has directly examined the relationship between anthropometric measures of height and knee joint structures, such as cartilage.
  
  
  METHODS
  89 asymptomatic community-based adults aged 25-62 with no diagnosed history of knee arthropathy were recruited. Anthropometric data (knee height and body height) were obtained by standard protocol, while tibial cartilage volume and defects, as well as bone area were determined from magnetic resonance imaging. Static knee alignment was measured from the joint radiograph.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All anthropometric height measures were associated with increasing compartmental tibial bone area (p ≤ 0.05). Although knee height was associated with tibial cartilage volume (e.g. β = 27 mm³ 95% CI 7- 48; p = 0.009 for the medial compartment), these relationship no longer remained significant when knee height as a percentage of body height was analysed. Knee height as a percentage of body height was associated with a reduced risk of medial tibial cartilage defects (odds ratio 0.6; 95% confidence interval 0.4 - 1.0; p = 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The association between increased anthropometric height measures and increased tibial bone area may reflect inherently larger bony structures. However the beneficial associations demonstrated with cartilage morphology suggest that an increased knee height may confer a beneficial biomechanical environment to the chondrocyte of asymptomatic adults.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health & Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, Vic 3004, Australia.
authors.forename: Andrew J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Teichtahl
authors.forename: Anita E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Wluka
authors.forename: Boyd J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Strauss
authors.forename: Yuanyuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Berry
authors.forename: Miranda
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Davies-Tuck
authors.forename: Flavia M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Cicuttini
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000886:Anthropometry / Q000379:methods*; D001827:Body Height / Q000502:physiology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000254:growth & development; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011859:Radiography; D012016:Reference Values