Epidemiologic studies for osteoarthritis: new versus conventional study design approaches

Current insights into osteoarthritis epidemiology Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of arthritis. Symptomatic knee OA occurs in approximately 13% of persons who are aged 60 and older Epidemiology is the study of the occurrence of disease in populations and its association with characteristics of people and their environments. Epidemiologic studies have provided much information about the occurrence of OA. Disease in the knee is common, especially among the aged; hip OA is less prevalent in most populations than disease in the knee; and for disease in the hand, radiographic OA is nearly universal in older people, whereas symptoms are less frequent. Studies have also shown that, for most joints, women who are olde