Joint Stiffness Is Heritable and Associated with Fibrotic Conditions and Joint Replacement

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 10; no. 7; p. e0133629
• Main Authors: Williams, Frances M, Kalson, Nicholas S, Fabiane, Stella M, Mann, Derek A, Deehan, David J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 21.07.2015; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Adult; Age; Aged; Arthritis; Arthroplasty, Replacement, Hip; Arthroplasty, Replacement, Knee; Body mass; Body Mass Index; Body size; Confidence intervals; Dupuytren Contracture - physiopathology; Female; Fibrosis; Fibrosis - physiopathology; Genetic factors; Genetic Predisposition to Disease; Heritability; Hip; Hip Joint - physiopathology; Humans; Joint replacement; Joint replacement surgery; Knee; Knee Joint - physiopathology; Logistic Models; Male; Middle Aged; Multivariate Analysis; Osteoarthritis, Hip - surgery; Osteoarthritis, Knee - surgery; Range of Motion, Articular; Regression analysis; Risk Factors; Sex; Shoulder; Statistical analysis; Stiffness; Surveys and Questionnaires; Twins; United Kingdom; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0133629

Joint stiffness is a common, debilitating, age-related symptom, which may be seen after total joint replacement (TJR). Stiffness also occurs in fibrotic conditions such as shoulder capsulitis and Dupuytren's contracture. We speculated that the two traits (TJR and fibrotic disease) are linked pathogenically. Using the TwinsUK NIHR BRC BioResource we tested the hypotheses that 1) joint (hip and knee) stiffness, TJR (hip and knee), and fibrotic conditions are associated and 2) genetic factors contribute to them. Participating twins (n = 9718) had completed self-reported questionnaires on the traits of interest. All three traits were significantly associated with increasing age and body mass index (BMI), as well as female sex, on univariate analysis. Multivariable logistic regression analyses showed a significant association between TJR and joint stiffness (OR = 3.96, 95% confidence interval, CI 2.77-5.68) and between fibrotic conditions and joint stiffness (OR = 2.39, 1.74-3.29), adjusting for age, sex, BMI and twin relatedness. Monozygotic versus dizygotic intraclass correlations gave heritability estimates for TJR = 46% and joint stiffness = 32%. That fibrotic conditions, joint stiffness and TJR are significantly associated suggests a common disease process, possibly fibrosis, which is genetically mediated.