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Objective. To estimate the risk of osteoarthritis (OA) of the hip and knee due to long-term weightbearing sports activity in ex-elite athletes and the general population.Methods. A retrospective cohort study was conducted of 81 female ex-elite athletes (67 middle-and long-distance runners, and 14 tennis players), currently ages 40-65, recruited from original playing records, and 977 age-matched female controls, taken from the age-sex register of the offices of a group general practice in Chingford, Northeast London, England. The definition of OA included radiologic changes (joint space narrowing and osteophytosis) in the hip joints, patellofemoral (PF) joints, and tibiofemoral (TF) joints.Results. Compared with controls of similar age, the ex-athletes had greater rates of radiologic OA at all sites. This association increased further after adjustment for height and weight differences, and was strongest for the presence of osteophytes at the TF joints (odds ratio [OR] 3.48), and was weakest for narrowing at the TF joints (OR 1.17, 95% CI 0.71-1.94). No clear risk factors were seen within the ex-athlete groups, although the tennis players tended to have more osteophytes at the TFjoints and hip, but the runners had more PF joint disease. Within the control group, a small subgroup of 22 women who reported long-term vigorous weight-bearing exercise had risks of OA similar to those of the ex-athletes. Ex-athletes had similar rates of symptom reporting but higher pain thresholds than controls, as measured by calibrated dolorimeter.Conclusion. Weight-bearing sports activity in women is associated with a 2-3-fold increased risk of radiologic OA (particularly the presence of osteophytes) of the knees and hips. The risk was similar in ex-elite athletes and in a subgroup from the general population who reported long-term sports activity, suggesting that duration rather than frequency of training is important.Osteoarthritis (OA) is one of the most common causes of disability in developed countries. An increase in the level of recreational physical activity is being widely encouraged as a major public health initiative to reduce cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis, yet the risks associated with excessive sports activity are unclear. To date, results of studies that have investigated the effects of weight-bearing exercise on the skeleton of athletes have been conflicting. Reports of negative effects have included studies of knee or hip O A in former cross country runners (1) and track athletes (2), a study of veteran Californian runners (3), and a study of knees and ankles of veteran military parachutists (4). Reports of positive effects have included a study from Finland of male ex-runners with OA (5), a recent record linkage study of male Finnish athletes showing a 2-fold risk of

Proxies for screening SI and pancreatic beta-cell responsiveness in horses from this study compared favorably with proxies used effectively for humans. Combined use of RISQI and MIRG will enable differentiation between compensated and uncompensated insulin resistance. The sample size of our study allowed for determination of sound reference range values and quintiles for healthy horses.

Objectives-There are no agreed criteria for osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee in population studies. The radiographic scoring system of Kellgren and Lawrence has been the system most used in the past and although other methods have been developed, comparisons have not been performed. Therefore these grading systems were compared in radiographs from a general population sample.Methods-Anteroposterior weightbearing radiographs of 1954 knees from 977 women aged 45-64 years from the Chingford population study were read by a variety of methods, including quantitative measures of minimum joint space, qualitative measures of osteophytes and of joint space, and a qualitative Kellgren and Lawrence global score. All qualitative methods used standardised atlases. Intraobserver and interobserver reproducibility was tested on a subgroup of 100 films using three observers and two readings. Variables were dichotomised at the tenth and second centiles to define OA. Odds ratios were calculated for each method for the association of OA with knee pain, obesity, and with each of the other methods. Results-Most methods had high intraobserver and interobserver reproducibility, except for measurements of lateral joint space.

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