Risk factors and molecular entities of the etiopathogenesis of the knee osteoarthritis (literature review)

Introduction Osteoarthritis (OA) is a heterogenic group of disorders of different etiology with similar biological, morphological and clinical manifestations and outcomes. OA is now considered a disease of the whole joint, including alterations in the articular cartilage, subchondral bone, synovial membrane, ligaments, capsule and periarticular muscles. OA of the knee as the most commonly affected joint accounts for the great medical, medical, social and economic impact. Material and methods A literature review assessing Russian and foreign studies on molecular mechanisms of etiology and pathogenesis of knee OA identified a set of factors for which there was consistent evidence for their association with onset of knee OA. A search of studies published in Russian and in English for the last ten years was conducted using bibliographic databases, including PubMed, PubMedCentral, GoogleScholar, eLIBRARY. Search terms included 'knee osteoarthritis', 'etiology', 'pathogenesis', 'risk factors'. Results Review of the literature showed that patients with knee OA are characterized by changes in cartilage, subchondral bone, synovium, suggesting common mechanisms of joint degeneration during OA development. Osteoarthritis (OA) is multifactorial in origin and closely associated with a wide spectrum of local (previous injury, muscle weakness, knee malalignment, knee surgeries, abnormal mechanical loading, excessive high impact sports, occupational physical activities) and systemic risk factors (advanced age, female sex, height, greater body mass index and obesity, hormone status, family history, mineral bone density, vitamin D deficiency, ethnicity). The prevalence of the knee OA and patterns of joint involvement vary among different racial and ethnic groups. Conclusion The literature review allowed us to identify the molecular mechanisms of etiopathogenesis of knee OA and the major risk factors for the pathology.