Rheumatic diseases in Neolithic and Medieval populations of western Switzerland

An investigation of three groups from ancient populations (Neolithic, Early Middle Ages, Middle Ages) was performed on 273 adult skeletons. Despite unequal preservation of the remains, a study of a series of large joints and spinal segments permitted some conclusions: rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, and osteoarthrosis of large joints (hip, knee, shoulder) were not found. The main findings were: osteoarthrosis in spinal zygapophyseal joints (particularly at cervical level); intervertebral osteochondrosis (particularly at the cervical and lumbar levels); Schmorl's nodes (particularly at the thoracic and lumbar levels); enthesopathic osteophytes (particularly in the spine, iliac crest, patella, and calcaneus). Such deformities seemed more frequent in the Middle Ages than in the Neolithic period.