This meta-analysis of 34 population-based prevalence studies and 5 incidence studies uses random-effects pooling and meta-regression to quantify sex differences in OA prevalence, incidence, and severity across knee, hip, hand, and spine, addressing longstanding uncertainty about which sex bears the greater OA burden at each anatomic site.
When counseling patients about OA risk, recognize that women face higher rates of knee and hand OA at both the prevalence and incidence level — especially severe knee disease after menopause.
While younger men (under 55) are the outlier group with elevated cervical spine OA risk, likely trauma-driven. The hip is the one site where incidence data (male IRR 0.64) and prevalence data diverge, so do not assume the null prevalence finding means equal hip OA burden across sexes.
This meta-analysis of 34 population-based prevalence studies and 5 incidence studies uses random-effects pooling and meta-regression to quantify sex differences in OA prevalence, incidence, and severity across knee, hip, hand, and spine, addressing longstanding uncertainty about which sex bears the greater OA burden at each anatomic site.
When counseling patients about OA risk, recognize that women face higher rates of knee and hand OA at both the prevalence and incidence level — especially severe knee disease after menopause.
While younger men (under 55) are the outlier group with elevated cervical spine OA risk, likely trauma-driven. The hip is the one site where incidence data (male IRR 0.64) and prevalence data diverge, so do not assume the null prevalence finding means equal hip OA burden across sexes.