title: Is early osteoarthritis associated with differences in joint congruence?
abstract: Previous studies suggest that osteoarthritis (OA) is related to abnormal or excessive articular contact stress. The peak pressure resulting from an applied load is determined by many factors, among which is shape and relative position and orientation of the articulating surfaces or, referring to a more common nomenclature, joint congruence. It has been hypothesized that anatomical differences may be among the causes of OA. Individuals with less congruent joints would likely develop higher peak pressure and thus would be more exposed to the risk of OA onset. The aim of this work was to determine if the congruence of the first carpometacarpal (CMC) joint differs with the early onset of OA or with sex, as the female population has a higher incidence of OA. 59 without and 38 with early OA were CT-scanned with their dominant or arthritic hand in a neutral configuration. The proposed measure of joint congruence is both shape and size dependent. The correlation of joint congruence with pathology and sex was analyzed both before and after normalization for joint size. We found a significant correlation between joint congruence and sex due to the sex-related differences in size. The observed correlation disappeared after normalization. Although joint congruence increased with size, it did not correlate significantly with the onset of early OA. Differences in joint congruence in this population may not be a primary cause of OA onset or predisposition, at least for the CMC joint.
authors.affiliation: Health Sciences and Technologies, Interdepartmental Center for Industrial Research (HST-ICIR), Alma Mater Studiorum-University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy. Electronic address: michele.conconi@unibo.it.
authors.forename: Michele
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Conconi
authors.affiliation: Center for Biomedical Engineering, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA.
authors.forename: Eni
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Halilaj
authors.affiliation: Health Sciences and Technologies, Interdepartmental Center for Industrial Research (HST-ICIR), Alma Mater Studiorum-University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy; Department of Industrial Engineering (DIN), Alma Mater Studiorum-University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Vincenzo
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Parenti Castelli
authors.affiliation: Center for Biomedical Engineering, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA; Department of Orthopaedics, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University and Rhode Island Hospital, Providence, RI, USA.
authors.forename: Joseph J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Crisco
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D052737:Carpometacarpal Joints / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008954:Models, Biological; D010003:Osteoarthritis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000209:etiology; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Carpometacarpal joint; Etiology; Joint congruence; Osteoarthritis; Sex differences