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Relation of Intra-Articular Mineralization to Knee Pain in Knee Osteoarthritis: A Longitudinal Analysis in the MOST Study
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Relation of Intra-Articular Mineralization to Knee Pain in Knee Osteoarthritis: A Longitudinal Analysis in the MOST Study

Jean Liew, Mohamed Jarraya, Ali Guermazi, John Lynch, Na Wang, Gabriela Rabasa, S Jafarzadeh, Michael Nevitt, James Torner, Cora Lewis, …
Arthritis & Rheumatology, Vol.75(12), pp.2161-2168
12/01/2023
DOI: 10.1002/art.42649
PMCID: PMC10770289
PMID: 37410792
url
https://escholarship.org/content/qt0gj3845x/qt0gj3845x.pdfView
Open Access

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Intra-articular (IA) calcium crystal deposition is common in knee osteoarthritis (OA), but of unclear significance. It is possible that low-grade, crystal-related inflammation may contribute to knee pain. We examined the longitudinal relation of computed tomography (CT)-detected IA mineralization to the development of knee pain. METHODS: We used data from the National Institutes of Health-funded longitudinal Multicenter Osteoarthritis Study. Participants had knee radiographs and bilateral knee CTs at baseline, and pain assessments every 8 months for 2 years. CT images were scored using the Boston University Calcium Knee Score. We longitudinally examined the relation of CT-detected IA mineralization to the risk of frequent knee pain (FKP), intermittent or constant knee pain worsening, and pain severity worsening using generalized linear mixed-effects models. RESULTS: We included 2,093 participants (mean age 61 years, 57% women, mean body mass index 28.8 kg/m2 ). Overall, 10.2% of knees had IA mineralization. The presence of any IA mineralization in the cartilage was associated with 2.0 times higher odds of having FKP (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.38-2.78) and 1.86 times more frequent intermittent or constant pain (95% CI 1.20-2.78), with similar results seen for the presence of any IA mineralization in the meniscus or joint capsule. A higher burden of IA mineralization anywhere within the knee was associated with a higher odds of all pain outcomes (odds ratio ranged from 2.14 to 2.21). CONCLUSION: CT-detected IA mineralization was associated with risk of having more frequent, persistent, and worsening knee pain over 2 years. Targeting IA mineralization may have therapeutic potential for pain improvement in knee OA.
Osteoarthritis Pain Calcinosis Calcium Female Humans Knee Knee Joint Male Middle Aged Multicenter Studies as Topic

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