Laterality of radiographic osteoarthritis of the knee

ABSTRACT

There are few reports of the laterality in radiological knee osteoarthritis (ROA). This study aimed to evaluate laterality in terms of the minimum joint space width (mJSW) and osteophyte areas (OFs) in a cross-sectorial general population screen and elucidate the association between laterality and risk of osteoarthritis. We enrolled 330 participants (mean age 64.6 years) and examined the presence of ROA (Kellgren–Lawrence grade ≧ 2) laterality in terms of the mJSW and OF on the medial tibia using auto-measuring software. Moreover, we examined the association between laterality and leg dominance. The right and left medial mJSWs were 4.02 ± 0.98 mm and 4.05 ± 1.01 mm, respectively, showing no laterality; the laterals were also similar. The participants who had osteophytes ≥1 mm² in the right, left, and bilateral knees were 15, 37, and 57 respectively, with osteophytes being significantly more common in the left knee. The OF was significantly larger in the left knee. Conversely, the medial and lateral mJSWs and OF did not differ according to leg dominance. The prevalence of ROA was higher and the OF was more pronounced in the left knee. However, the mJSW showed no laterality. Additionally, the mJSW and OF showed no differences according to leg dominance.

KEYWORDS:

• Osteoarthritis
• knee
• laterality
• epidemiology
• plain radiograph

Acknowledgements

We thank the staff of the Comprehensive Health Care Program held in Yakumo, Hokkaido. Further, we wish to thank Dr S. Yamashita for data analysis.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCiD

Daigo Komatsu http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7476-0657

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded by National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology of Japan (7-430 Morioka-cho, Obu City, Aichi Prefecture, Japan). The sponsors of our study had no role in its design; the collection, analysis, or the interpretation of data; manuscript preparation; or in the decision to submit this manuscript for publication.