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Sport, male gender influence risk of full-thickness cartilage lesions
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Type of sport, gender and other factors increase the risk of full-thickness articular cartilage lesions in patients with ACL injuries, according to a study conducted by researchers from Sweden and Norway.
“There are varying reports on the incidence of cartilage lesions in ACL-injured knees, and there is no consensus on the risk factors of these lesions,” Jan Harald Røtterud, MD, said during his presentation at the 2011 Annual Meeting of American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine.
Patient cohort
For their prospective study, Røtterud and his team evaluated the role of gender, sport — including soccer, skiing, basketball, handball, football and others — and patient-based data in predisposing patients to full-thickness articular cartilage lesions. Soccer was used as a comparison to the other sports because it was the “most common cause of ACL injuries with about 40%,” according to Røtterud.
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Image: Røtterud JH |
The investigators used ACL surgery data from the national knee ligament registries in Sweden and Norway to identify 15,783 patients who underwent primary ACL reconstructions between 2005 and 2008. Of these patients, 1,012 had full-thickness articular cartilage lesions. The average time from ACL injury to surgery was 9 months. The researchers used a logistic regression model to analyze risk factors from the data.
The investigators found that male patients had an increased odds ratio of 1.22 for sustaining full-thickness lesions compared with female patients. Male handball players had an odds ratio of 2.36 for sustaining such lesions compared with male soccer players.
However, the researchers discovered no statistically significant difference in the odds ratio for full-thickness lesions concerning type of sports played among female patients.
Age, time to surgery
The study revealed that time from injury to surgery increased the risk of full-thickness lesions, “but not among those patients operated within the first 12 months after the injury,” Røtterud said.
Patients who were previously operated in the knee had an increased risk of a full-thickness lesion with an odds ratio of 1.40. The researchers found that increasing patient age by 1 year also increased the risk of full-thickness lesions. – by Renee Blisard
Reference:
- Røtterud JH, Sivertsen EA, Forsblad M, Engebretsen L. Impact of gender and sports on the risk of fill-thickness articular cartilage lesions in anterior cruciate ligament injured knees: A nationwide cohort study from Sweden and Norway of 15783 patients. Paper #13. Presented at the 2011 Annual Meeting of the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine. July 7-10. San Diego.
- Jan Harald Røtterud, MD, can be reached at Akerhus University Hospital, Sykehusveien 25, Lørenskog, 1478 Norway; email: janhrot@medisin.uio.no.
- Disclosure: Røtterud has no relevant financial disclosures.