J Korean Orthop Assoc.  2002 Dec;37(6):718-722.

Correlation between Bone Mineral Density and Knee Osteoarthritis

• Moon WN
• Lee KS

Abstract

PURPOSE: To examine the correlation between bone mineral density (BMD) and radiographic changes in knee osteoarthritis (OA).
MATERIALS AND METHODS
BMD of the lumbar spine and hip was measured, using dual x-ray energy absorptiometry, in 297 Korean women who visited our clinic with knee joint pain; anteroposterior weight bearing X-ray of the knees was also taken. Radiographic OA was defined as a Kellgren-Lawrence score of >or=2. The relationship between BMD and the radiographic changes of OA was examined using correlation and multiple regression analysis.
RESULTS
Mean BMD was lower in subjects with knee OA (n=136) than in non OA subjects (n=161): Mean BMD in the lumbar spine, OA group was 0.863 +/-0.154 g/cm2 and in the non OA group 0.896 +/-0.131 g/cm2, and there was no significant correlation between the BMD of the spine and radiographic knee OA (r=-0.087, p=0.134). Mean BMD in the hip, OA group was 0.610 +/-0.135 g/cm2 and in the non OA group was 0.662+/-0.105 g/cm2, and the difference between the two groups was significant (r=-0.227, p<0.001).
CONCLUSION
Hip BMD and radiographic knee OA were found to be negatively correlated, although the mechanism remains unclear. This result differs from that of a western study and further study is needed.

Keyword

Knee; Osteoarthritis; Bone mineral density

MeSH Terms

Bone Density*
Female
Hip
Humans
Knee Joint
Knee*
Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis, Knee*
Spine
Weight-Bearing