An assessment of degenerative joint disease of the hip and shoulder in a Cypriot community from Limassol, Cyprus

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2015-12

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Abstract

Degenerative joint disease (DJD) is one of the most common pathological conditions observed in skeletal collections. DJD is the destruction of articular cartilage and bone at the joint surface. It can be associated with advanced age, work habits, mechanical stress, or the result of injury to the limbs. Evidence of DJD is visible through a series of lesions including porosity, lipping, osteophytes, eburnation, and, in rare but severe cases, ankylosis of the joint. This research focuses on degenerative joint disease of the hip and shoulder among remains exhumed from the St. Nicholas Cemetery in Limassol, Cyprus. This sample of burials was examined during the 2014 study abroad field school sponsored by Texas Tech University. The sample is unique in that we are provided with known demographic information regarding age and sex. The purpose of this project is to assess the frequency of degenerative joint disease specific to the hip and shoulder joints in Cypriot individuals from this community. Thirty-three geriatric skeletal remains are analyzed for the common lesions associated with DJD. Each joint is treated as an individual unit. Lesions were scored to type, i.e. eburnation, osteophytes, and porosity, and to the degree of severity. Since the sample is small, analysis of data is completed using the Fisher’s exact test. We find that degenerative joint disease of the hip and shoulder is not sex specific for this sample and that old age is a critical factor in the presence of severe lesions.

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Degenerative joint disease, Cyprus

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