Quantitative measurements of joint space width in knee joints in an American cohort of middle-aged and older adults compared with the Japanese population

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20K18054
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 56020:Orthopedics-related
• Research Institution: The University of Tokyo
• Principal Investigator: Fujii Tomoko 東京大学, 医学部附属病院, 届出研究員 (40793089)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-04-01 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: 変形性膝関節症 / X線画像 / 定量的関節裂隙 / 関節裂隙狭小化

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Minimum joint space width (min JSW) on knee radiographs (the smallest distance between the femur and tibia) has been used for defining prevalent knee osteoarthritis and its progression. In the Research on Osteoarthritis/Osteoporosis Against Disability (ROAD) study in Japan, JSW was quantitatively measured using a computer-assisted system: KOACAD. In the current study, min JSW was measured on radiographs at baseline and 36 months from the Osteoarthritis Initiative (OAI), which is a cohort study in the United States using KOACAD for measurements. The mean min JSW at baseline was 3.08 mm (standard deviation [SD], 1.12). Compared with the ROAD study regarding sex and Kallgren-Laurence (KL) grades, the differences were < 0.30mm. However, in some sex and KL grades categories, the differences were 0.48-1.13mm. The mean change in min JSW was 0.14 mm (SD, 0.69) which was similar to the results by Duryea et al.

Free Research Field

社会医学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

定量的な膝関節裂隙の狭小化について人種や国による違いがあるかは明らかでなく、日本の大規模コホートと同じ方法を用いて米国人の画像について評価を行ったことは学術的な意義がある。今後関節裂隙の変化量について人種間等の違いを検討することは、病態の理解や治療の開発に役立つと考えられ、社会的な意義がある。