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Updated: Feb 25, 2026
Software-Assisted Quantitative Measurement of Osteoarthritic Subchondral Bone Thickness
Published on: March 18, 2022
Associations between systemic bone mineral density, knee cartilage defects and bone marrow lesions in patients with
Qicui Zhu1, Jianhua Xu1, Kang Wang1
1Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Arthritis Research Institute, the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China.
Aim:
The relationship between bone mineral density (BMD) and osteoarthritis (OA) remains controversial. This study aimed to explore the cross-sectional associations between BMD at the total body, hip and spine and joint structural abnormalities including cartilage defects and bone marrow lesions (BMLs) in patients with knee OA.
Method:
One hundred and eight-five subjects with symptomatic knee OA were included in this study. T2-weighted fast spin echo magnetic resonance imaging was used to assess knee cartilage defects and BMLs. Total body, hip and spine BMD were measured using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry.
Results:
After adjustment for potential confounders, total hip BMD was negatively associated with medial tibial cartilage defects, lateral femoral cartilage defects, medial tibial BMLs and lateral tibial BMLs. Spine and total body BMD were negatively associated with lateral femoral cartilage defects, but not with BMLs.
Conclusion:
We concluded that BMD particularly at the hip was negatively associated with knee cartilage defects and BMLs.
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