Meniscal Tear May Be First Indicator of Knee OA

One likely explanation for the common finding of mixed knee OA following meniscectomy is that OA disease activity in the knee releases protease and cytokine cascades that act locally on both the tibiofemoral and patellofemoral joints as well as the type I collagen-rich menisci.

Patients with mixed OA had worse knee symptoms and poorer knee-related quality of life on structured measures than those with only tibiofemoral OA. This is an important new observation because epidemiologic studies of knee OA as well as treatment studies have focused solely on tibiofemoral OA as an end point, he said.

In a multivariate logistic regression analysis, the risk factors for radiographic patellofemoral and tibiofemoral OA were essentially the same: obesity, age beyond 60 years, a degenerative type of meniscal tear, and total or subtotal, as compared with partial meniscectomy.

Dr. Englund's studies on knee OA after meniscectomy were funded primarily by the Swedish Research Council, the Swedish Rheumatism Association, and the Swedish National Center for Research in Sports.