The prevalence of hip osteoarthritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis

To estimate the global prevalence of hip osteoarthritis (HOA) through a systematic review and meta-analysis, and to determine by regression analysis the respective relationships between age and sex, and sex and prevalence.

EMBASE, PubMed, Web of science, CINAHL, and SCOPUS were searched from inception until August 2022. Two authors independently extracted data and assessed the quality of the retrieved literature. Random-effects meta-analysis was performed to derive the pooled prevalence. Variations in the prevalence estimate in different subgroups, including diagnostic methods, region, and patient sex, were examined by subgroup meta-analysis. Meta-regression was used to construct the age-specific prevalence of HOA.

A total of 31 studies were included in our analysis, involving 326,463 participants. Quality evaluation showed that all studies included in the analysis had a Quality Score of at least 4. The most frequently used method for diagnosing HOA was the Kellgren-Lawrence (K-L) grade classification, accounting for 19/31 (61.3%) studies. The pooled prevalence of HOA diagnosed based on the K-L grade ≥ 2 criterion was 8.55% (95% CI 4.85-13.18) worldwide. The prevalence of HOA was lowest in Africa at 1.20% (95% CI: 0.40-2.38), followed by Asia at 4.26% (95% CI 0.02-14.93) and North America at 7.95% (95% CI 1.98-17.36), and highest in Europe at 12.59% (95% CI 7.17-19.25). There was no statistically significant difference in HOA prevalence between men (9.42%, 95% CI:4.81-15.34) and women at (7.94%, 95% CI: 3.57-13.81). The regression model showed a correlation between age and the prevalence of HOA.

HOA has high prevalence worldwide and increases with age. The prevalence varies significantly by region but not by patient sex. High-quality epidemiological studies are warranted to more accurately estimate the prevalence of HOA.