The epidemiology of osteoarthritis: Manchester and beyond

The paper describes the contribution made to the understanding of the epidemiology of osteoarthritis by the Arthritis Research Campaign Epidemiology Unit. Kellgren and Lawrence defined the condition radiographically and produced the widely used Atlas of Standard Radiographs of Arthritis. They documented the age- and sex-specific prevalence of osteoarthritis. Based on studies in occupational groups, they proposed that local biomechanical stress was linked to causation. Philip Wood focused on osteoarthritis as a syndrome of pain and disability. During the directorship of Alan Silman the emphasis has been on osteoarthritis as a public health problem.