Prevalence of chondrocalcinosis on knee radiographs and associations with sociodemographic factors: The Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health - Musculoskeletal (ELSA-Brasil MSK)

Abstract

An increase in the burden of diseases among older adults is expected due to the aging of the Brazilian population. Understanding the prevalence of such diseases is essential for health service planning, including human resources, diagnostics and treatments. This article describes the prevalence of chondrocalcinosis in knees according to sociodemographic factors and chronic diseases. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 2,732 public servants from the ELSA-Brasil MSK baseline (2012-2014). Chondrocalcinosis was defined as a radiographic finding of calcium crystals deposition in the cartilage (punctate and linear calcifications) in any compartment of the left and/or right knees. Sociodemographic factors, anthropometric measures, and chronic diseases including diabetes, hypertension (HTN) and chronic kidney disease (CKD), were investigated. The prevalence of chondrocalcinosis was described considering the total population and the age group over 60 years (n=945). Pearson’s chi-squared/Fisher’s exact tests compared chondrocalcinosis distribution according to sociodemographic factors and chronic diseases. Multivariate logistic regression examined factors independently associated with chondrocalcinosis. The mean age of participants was 56.0 years (SD=8.7). Considering the entire population, prevalence of chondrocalcinosis was 1.4%, increasing with age (p<0.001) and lower education (p<0.01) and only age (OR=1.13, CI95% 1.09-1.18) remains in multivariate model. Among those aged ≥60 years (34.6%), prevalence was 3.3%, more frequent in males, Black and Brown race/skin color, those with lower education level, obese, diabetes, and non-HTN. Lower education (OR=2.62, CI95%1.10-6.23) and age (OR=1.15, CI95%1.07-1.23) were independently associated with chondrocalcinosis. This study reports preliminary findings from the ELSA-Brasil MSK baseline (2012–2014), serving as a foundation for future analyses.