title: Association between height and osteoarthritis of the knee and hip: The Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966 Study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate whether height at the age of 31 is associated with the incidence of knee and hip osteoarthritis (OA) in the following 15 years.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants in The Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966 (NFBC1966) diagnosed with knee or hip OA between the ages of 31 and 46 were used as OA cases. Study subjects without knee and hip OA were used as the controls. Height and weight were measured in a clinical examination at the age of 31 (baseline). Mean heights for the OA cases and the controls were compared by an independent samples t-test. Cox regression analysis was performed to calculate the risk for OA for different height quartiles. The results were adjusted for body mass index/weight, education, smoking and leisure-time physical activity at baseline. Additionally, a Kaplan-Meier analysis was performed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Men with knee OA were 2.6 cm taller (P < 0.001) and women with knee OA 1.2 cm taller (P = 0.048) than the controls. Hip OA cases were found to be slightly shorter than the controls, but no statistically significant differences were observed. The adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) for knee OA and hip OA in the highest quartile were 2.5 (95% CI 1.4-4.5) and 1.0 (95% CI 0.3-3.4) for men and 1.8 (95% CI 1.0-3.1) and 0.7 (95% CI 0.2-2.3) for women.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Height at the age of 31 was associated with incidence of early knee OA, diagnosed prior to age 46. However, the low incidence of hip OA made our results for hip OA inconclusive.
authors.affiliation: Center for Life Course Health Research, Medical Research Center Oulu, Oulu University Hospital and University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.|Department of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine, Medical Research Center Oulu, Oulu University Hospital and University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.|Faculty of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.
authors.forename: Maiju
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Welling
authors.affiliation: Center for Life Course Health Research, Medical Research Center Oulu, Oulu University Hospital and University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.|Unit of Primary Care, Oulu University Hospital, Oulu, Finland.
authors.forename: Juha
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Auvinen
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology and Surgery Clinic, Medical Research Center, University of Oulu and Oulu University Hospital, Oulu, Finland.
authors.forename: Petri
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lehenkari
authors.affiliation: Center for Life Course Health Research, Medical Research Center Oulu, Oulu University Hospital and University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.|Faculty of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.
authors.forename: Minna
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Männikkö
authors.affiliation: Center for Life Course Health Research, Medical Research Center Oulu, Oulu University Hospital and University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.|Department of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine, Medical Research Center Oulu, Oulu University Hospital and University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.|Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Oulu, Finland.
authors.forename: Jaro
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Karppinen
authors.affiliation: Center for Life Course Health Research, Medical Research Center Oulu, Oulu University Hospital and University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.
authors.forename: Pasi J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Eskola
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D001827:Body Height; D001835:Body Weight; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015207:Osteoarthritis, Hip / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D020370:Osteoarthritis, Knee / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D013997:Time Factors
keywords: cohort studies; epidemiologic methods; hip; knee; osteoarthritis