The relationship of age and gender to prevalence and pattern of radiographic changes of osteoarthritis of the knee: data from Caucasian participants in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging.

The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence and pattern of radiographic changes of osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee by age and gender in Caucasian participants in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging. Bilateral standing weight-bearing radiographs of the knee in 547 male and 351 female subjects (aged 20 and above) were read for changes of knee OA using Kellgren-Lawrence and individual features scales. Prevalence of definite (Kellgren-Lawrence grade > or = 2 changes) knee OA increased with advancing age in both sexes. Approximately 50 percent in both sexes showed bilateral involvement. Men aged 59 and below were more likely to have unilateral impairment than men aged 60 and above; no such differences were found in females. These data demonstrate that age and gender influence both the prevalence and pattern of radiographic changes of knee OA.