Is tibiofemoral osteoarthritis in the knee joint a new disease?

OBJECTIVES To compare the prevalence of osteoarthritis (OA) of the hip, tibiofemoral and patellofemoral joints in a skeletal population. METHODS A total of 785 adult English skeletons (695 Saxon or Mediaeval origin) were examined for OA using established criteria. RESULTS Twenty nine skeletons had hip OA, compared with 14 with patellofemoral joint OA, and only four tibiofemoral joint OA. CONCLUSION Tibiofemoral OA was far less prevalent in ancient skeletons than hip or patellofemoral disease. Tibiofemoral OA may be a 'new' disease.