Plato C C, Norris A H
Am J Epidemiol. 1979 Dec;110(6):740-6. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a112855.
Evaluation of the osteoarthritic grades of the hands of 478 participants of the ongoing Baltimore Longitudinal Study suggests that: 1) Joint degeneration due to osteoarthritis is a relatively slow process. The maximum rate of degeneration is seen in the distal interphalangeal joints where the average increase is about 1 grade per individual in an interval of 12 to 16 years between visits in each age group. The rate of degeneration in the proximal interphalangeal joints is much lower than that of the distal interphalangeal joints. 2) The progress of the degeneration in the distal interphalangeal joints of an individual (longitudinally evaluated) follows closely that which is observed at the population level (cross-sectional joint-digit study). That is, it is directly related to the age and the interval between visits. This is not always seen in the proximal interphalangeal joint data. 3) The rate of change in the osteoarthritic grade of individual hands agrees closely with that of their distal interphalangeal joints. This further supports the conclusions reached in a first report that what has been referred to as osteoarthritic grade of the hand of an individual may actually be the higher grade among the distal interphalangeal joints.
对正在进行的巴尔的摩纵向研究中478名参与者手部骨关节炎等级的评估表明：1）骨关节炎导致的关节退变是一个相对缓慢的过程。退变的最大速率出现在远端指间关节，在每个年龄组中，每次就诊间隔12至16年期间，平均每人约增加1级。近端指间关节的退变速率远低于远端指间关节。2）个体远端指间关节的退变进展（纵向评估）与在人群水平观察到的情况（横断面关节指节研究）密切相关。也就是说，它与年龄和就诊间隔直接相关。在近端指间关节数据中并非总是如此。3）个体手部骨关节炎等级的变化速率与其远端指间关节的变化速率密切一致。这进一步支持了第一份报告得出的结论，即所谓的个体手部骨关节炎等级实际上可能是远端指间关节中较高的等级。
