OBJECTIVE: To determine how frontal plane lower limb alignment obtained using a new femorotibial angle (FTA) measurement and non-radiographic handheld goniometry, predict femorotibial cartilage thickness @entity393 , compared with the gold standard mechanical axis (hip-knee-ankle [HKA]). METHODS: 934 @entity571 ( @entity571 ) Initiative knees with radiographic @entity571 had the above alignment measures and 3T knee MRIs acquired. The new FTA measure was compared to the gold standard, with and without adjusting FTA for the sex-specific varus shift. Changes in medial ( @entity68486 ) and lateral femorotibial (LFTC) cartilage thickness were quantified over 1-year and 2-years. Adjusted odds ratios (adjORs) were used to compare how the different alignment measures predict medial and lateral cartilage @entity393 . RESULTS: Pearson correlation coefficients between 2-year @entity68486 /LFTC cartilage loss and alignment measures were small to moderate, and were similar for FTA (r  =  0.28/-0.30) and for HKA (r  =  0.28/-0.29). Using the adjusted FTA measure, varus and valgus predicted @entity68486 progression (adjOR  =  3.73) and LFTC progression (adjOR  =  2.55) as well as HKA (adjOR  =  3.16 and 2.31) over 1-year, and this relationship was also observed over 2-years. Goniometry was a weak predictor for @entity68486 and LFTC progression (adjOR1-year  =  1.65 and 1.71; adjOR2-year  =  0.68 and 1.24). CONCLUSIONS: After adjustment, the new FTA measure obtained from short (fixed-flexion) knee films was as good as the gold standard in predicting medial and lateral cartilage loss over 1- or 2-years, without need for obtaining long-limb radiographs for determining the mechanical axis. Goniometry and non-adjusted FTA measures, in contrast, were poor predictors of cartilage loss.

Anatomical alignment, but not goniometry, predicts femorotibial cartilage loss as well as mechanical alignment: data from the XXXX Initiative.

@entity393 :: ('MESH:D034381', 'Disease') :: ['loss in varus and valgus knees'] @entity571 :: ('MESH:D010003', 'Disease') :: ['OA', 'Osteoarthritis'] @entity68486 :: ('81034', 'Gene') :: ['MFTC']
@entity571 :: (MESH:D010003,Disease) :: ['Osteoarthritis']
