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Updated: Jul 5, 2025

Tissue Collection and RNA Extraction from the Human Osteoarthritic Knee Joint
Published on: July 22, 2021
Looking back on 30+ years of the Johnston County Osteoarthritis Project while looking forward with the Johnston
Yvonne M Golightly1, Jordan B Renner2, Charles G Helmick3
1Thurston Arthritis Research Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA; College of Allied Health Professions, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA.
Abstract:
Over the last 30 years, knowledge of the epidemiology of osteoarthritis (OA) has dramatically advanced, and Osteoarthritis and Cartilage has been on the forefront of disseminating research findings from large OA cohort studies, including the Johnston County OA Project (JoCoOA). The JoCoOA is a population-based, prospective longitudinal cohort that began roughly 30 years ago with a key focus on understanding prevalence, incidence, and progression of OA, as well as its risk factors, in a predominantly rural population of Black and White adults 45+ years old in a county in the southeastern United States. Selected OA results that will be discussed in this review include racial differences, lifetime risk, biomarkers, mortality, and OA risk factors. The new Johnston County Health Study will also be introduced. This new cohort study of OA and comorbid conditions builds upon current OA knowledge and JoCoOA infrastructure and is designed to reflect changes in demographics and urbanization in the county and the region.
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