Exploring relationships among multi-disciplinary assessments for knee joint health in service members with traumatic unilateral lower limb loss: a two-year longitudinal investigation

Joseph G. Wasser, Brad D. Hendershot*, Julian C. Acasio, Lauren D. Dodd, Rebecca L. Krupenevich, Alison L. Pruziner, Ross H. Miller, Stephen M. Goldman, Michael S. Valerio, Lien T. Senchak, Mark D. Murphey, David A. Heltzel, Michael G. Fazio, Christopher L. Dearth, Nelson A. Hager

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Motivated by the complex and multifactorial etiologies of osteoarthritis, here we use a comprehensive approach evaluating knee joint health after unilateral lower limb loss. Thirty-eight male Service members with traumatic, unilateral lower limb loss (mean age = 38 yr) participated in a prospective, two-year longitudinal study comprehensively evaluating contralateral knee joint health (i.e., clinical imaging, gait biomechanics, physiological biomarkers, and patient-reported outcomes); seventeen subsequently returned for a two-year follow-up visit. For this subset with baseline and follow-up data, outcomes were compared between timepoints, and associations evaluated between values at baseline with two-year changes in tri-compartmental joint space. Upon follow-up, knee joint health worsened, particularly among seven Service members who presented at baseline with no joint degeneration (KL = 0) but returned with evidence of degeneration (KL ≥ 1). Joint space narrowing was associated with greater patellar tilt (r[12] = 0.71, p = 0.01), external knee adduction moment (r[13] = 0.64, p = 0.02), knee adduction moment impulse (r[13] = 0.61, p = 0.03), and CTX-1 concentration (r[11] = 0.83, p = 0.001), as well as lesser KOOSSport and VR-36General Health (r[16] = − 0.69, p = 0.01 and r[16] = − 0.69, p = 0.01, respectively). This longitudinal, multi-disciplinary investigation highlights the importance of a comprehensive approach to evaluate the fast-progressing onset of knee osteoarthritis, particularly among relatively young Service members with lower limb loss.

Original languageEnglish
Article number21177
JournalScientific Reports
Volume13
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2023

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