Natural history and clinical significance of meniscal tears over 8 years in a midlife cohort

BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders

Research Article

Flavia Cicuttini¹  Hussain Ijaz Khan²  Graeme Jones²  Dawn Aitken²  Changhai Ding²  Leigh Blizzard²  Jean-Pierre Pelletier³  Johanne Martel-Pelletier³ 

[1] Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia;Musculoskeletal Unit, Menzies Institute for Medical Research, University of Tasmania, Medical Science 1 Building, Private Bag 23, 17-Liverpool Street, 7000, Hobart, TAS, Australia;Osteoarthritis Research Unit, University of Montreal Hospital Research Centre (CRCHUM), Montreal, QC, Canada;

关键词: Knee;    Osteoarthritis;    Magnetic Resonance Imaging;    Radiographs;    Meniscus;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12891-015-0862-1

 received in 2015-10-04, accepted in 2015-12-28,  发布年份 2016

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundThere is limited longitudinal data available on the natural history of meniscal tears especially in middle-aged adults with a low prevalence of osteoarthritis (OA). The aim of this study was to describe the natural history of meniscal tears over 8 years and the relationship with change in knee pain and structures.MethodsOne hundred ninety eight participants [mean age 47 (28–63); 57 % female] were studied at baseline and 8 years later. Approximately half were the adult offspring of subjects who had a knee replacement performed for knee OA and the remainder were randomly selected controls. Meniscal tears/extrusion, cartilage volume/defects, bone marrow lesions (BMLs) and effusion were assessed on MRI. Knee pain was assessed using the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index.Results22 % of the participants had at least one meniscal tear at any site at baseline. Over 8 years, 16 % of the participants had an increase in severity of meniscal tears while none improved. Increase in meniscal tear score was associated with worsening knee pain (β = +2.81 (+1.40, +4.22)), with offspring having a significantly greater increase in pain severity compared to controls. BMI and presence of osteophytes at baseline, but not knee injury, predicted change in tears, whereas change in meniscal tears was independently associated with cartilage volume loss, change in BMLs and change in meniscal extrusion.ConclusionChange in meniscal tears shares risk factors with knee OA and is independently associated with worsening knee pain and structural damage suggesting that meniscal tears are on the knee OA causal pathway.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Khan et al. 2016