Risk of knee osteoarthritis incidence and progression: a cluster analyses using data from the Osteoarthritis Initiative
Background
Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common depilating condition affecting millions of people having many risk factors, some of which are modifiable. With so many risk factors present, there is a need to examine risk factors collectively or to classify populations using these risk factors simultaneously. Data for these analyses are from the OA Initiative (OAI) public use data set(s).
What the research hopes to achieve
To identify clusters using a multitude of risk factors and to identify corresponding risks of incidence or progression of knee OA.
Outcomes
Heterogeneous risk factors were identified in clusters within four statistically significantly different homogeneous groups. Different clusters had higher risk of incident knee OA than progressive knee OA; all high risk clusters were female clusters with lower levels of physical activity. If any patient were an inactive non-Caucasian female in her late fifties with higher BMI and pain then she should be made aware of higher risk of incidence of knee OA. Similarly, for patients with radiographic knee OA, if she were an inactive Caucasian female in late sixties or a moderately active Caucasian female in her early sixties with family history of hip/knee replacement, then extra care should be taken to control the knee OA progression.