Prevalence of small osteophytes on knee MRI in several large clinical and population-based studies of various age groups and OA risk factors

OBJECTIVE: Osteophytes, also small ones, are an important imaging feature of OA. However, due to their high prevalence on MR, the question has arisen whether these are truly pathophysiologic features of early OA, a result of physiologic aging, or rather a merely transient phenomenon. The aim of this study was to explore the prevalence of osteophytes on MR in various locations of the knee, with special emphasis on small osteophytes, across multiple large studies conducted in our institution comprising a wide range of subjects at different ages. METHOD: Retrospective explorative study of the prevalence of osteophytes, particularly grade 1 according to MOAKS, among four studies with a wide variety in age and OA risk factors. RESULTS: A large number of grade 1 osteophytes were found in all four studies. The largest number of osteophytes were present in the youngest age group of <30 years (69.6%) compared to 36.8% in the age group of ≥30 ​< ​50 years and 54,3% when aged ≥50 years, of which most were grade 1 osteophytes. CONCLUSION: Small osteophytes are highly prevalent among populations with varying age and OA risk factors, in particular among young subjects without other OA features. This might suggest that these “osteophytes” do not necessarily represent early OA, but rather indicate a transient physiologic phenomenon.