Fluctuating Relations of Hip and Knee Osteoarthritis : Prevalence in Late Prehistoric French Population

In this paper we compare the prevalence of osteoarthritis (OA) of hip and knee joints on skeletons series and relations between them. OA was registered from 166 individuals of Neolithic and protohistorical periods. Between Neolithic and Iron Age periods the ratio [hip OA/ knee OA] increases with diminution of knee OA prevalence; the ratio [patello-femoral OA / tibio-femoral OA] rather tends to decrease with diminution of the patello-femoral OA prevalence. These results would lead to display an inverse evolution of hip and knee OA than currently, in relation with the mechanical constraints during daily activities of these periods. Key-words : osteoarthritis (OA), prevalence, ratio [hip OA/ knee OA], ratio [patello-femoral OA / tibio-femoral OA], Neolithic, Iron Age