Markers associated with synovial inflammation can identify women at high risk of developing painful radiographic knee osteoarthritis: a prospective community based cohort

Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is commonly defined by radiographic changes and knee pain. KOA has a multifactorial aetiology, but there are several well-recognised strong risk factors for the incidence of KOA. These include age, sex, body mass index (BMI), previous injuries, bone density, smoking and pre-existing hand osteoarthritis (HOA). Factors associated with mild systemic and synovial inflammation are potential markers for KOA incidence. The hypothesis for this research was that selected markers associated with synovial inflammation and/or variables linked with metabolic syndrome (MetS) are prognostic for KOA incidence. Self-reported knee stiffness, serum markers associated with knee synovitis, and variables associated with MetS were selected as potential risk factors for KOA incident.