Osteoarthritis of the Hip and Fractures of the Proximal End of the Femur

Abstract

The purpose of this investigation was to verify a long-standing clinical observation that patients with fracture of the proximal end of the femur have less evidence of osteoarthritic changes in their hip joints than would have been expected in patients of similar age groups. The radiographs of 342 patients with fractures and those of 157 controls were examined. The statistical results gave uncontroversial evidence that the incidence of osteoarthritic joints was lower in the fracture group. The difference was even greater with severe osteoarthritic changes. This suggests that patients with osteoarthritis have a "better quality" of bone. They are less likely to be suffering from osteoporosis and less liable to fractures of the proximal end of the femur.

Relationship between gender, bone mineral density, and disc degeneration in the lumbar spine: a study in elderly subjects using an eight-level MRI-based disc degeneration grading system

“…This relationship may become significant if more subjects were recruited. Overall, as opposed to the results from [8,9], this study supports the results reported in [3][4][5][6][7], where disc degeneration was also found to be associated with higher lumbar spine BMD.…”

“…It remains controversial whether postmenopausal osteoporosis is associated with disc degeneration and how estrogen deficiency affects discs. Many studies have found that disc degeneration was associated with higher lumbar spine BMD [3][4][5][6][7]. On the other hand, a few studies reported that many osteoporotic patients have severe disc degeneration [8,9].…”

Bone density and local growth factors in generalized osteoarthritis

“…The increase in bone mass and change in bone quality might alter the mechanical properties of subchondral bone resulting in a reduced shock absorbing efficiency and leading to subchondral fracture and cartilage degeneration. This hypothesis might explain why in osteoporotic cases osteoarthritic changes at the joints and the spine are rarely seen (Dequeker et al, 1975;Pogrund et al, 1982;Weintroub et al, 1982).…”

The involvement of subchondral mineralized tissues in osteoarthrosis: Quantitative microscopic evidence

“…OA is uncommon in patients who have fractured a hip (Solomon et al, 1982;Weintroub et al, 1982). Likewise, severe osteoarthrotic changes are usually absent on femoral heads removed following femoral fracture (Byers et al, 1970;Foss and Byers, 1972;Schnitzler, 1979;Solomon et al, 1980;Weintroub et al, 1982).…”