Osteoarthritis in early modern population from Dąbrówki (Podlaskie Province)

Abstract

The aim of this analized is to evaluate the frequency of osteoarthritis in the early modern population of Dąbrówki (Poland). Evaluation of degenerative joint changes was based on standard methods commonly used in physical anthropology. Three types of changes were studied: osteophytes, porosities, and eburnations. They were analyzed in the shoulder, elbow, wrist, hip, knee, and proximal ankle joints. Osteoarthritic changes were assessed in 24 female, 20 male, and 8 undetermined sex individuals in the Dąbrówki population. In the population from Dąbrówki the highest frequency of degenerative changes was noted in the hip joint, and the lowest in the knee joint. Osteophytes were the predominant type of lesions. The less frequent type was porosity, while polishing of the articular surfaces did not occur. In males, degenerative changes were noted more frequently than in females. Due to the existence of many interpretative limitations (there is no a complete picture of the population from Dąbrówki - skeletal material under exploration; not entirely clear and multifactorial etiology of degenerative joint changes), further analysis of the markers of environmental stress in the population from Dąbrówki is necessary.