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A patient who undergoes surgical removal of a torn meniscus is at above-average risk for subsequent knee osteoarthritis (OA). Whether meniscal damage itself — in the absence of surgery — also predisposes patients to development of knee OA is unclear.
To study the association between meniscal damage and subsequent knee OA, researchers performed this prospective case-control study as part of a larger study of risk factors for knee OA among middle-aged and older adults (age range, 50–79). The 121 case patients had no radiographic knee OA at baseline but developed tibiofemoral OA at 30 months. The 294 controls had no radiographic knee OA either at baseline or at 30 months. On magnetic resonance imaging at baseline, the prevalence of meniscal dam…