An injury is a significant risk factor for osteoarthritis (OA), a highly prevalent and disabling joint disease. The joint shape is linked to OA, but the interplay of injury and joint form and is not well known their combined role in OA, particularly at the ankle. Therefore, it explored cross-sectional associations between ankle shape and injury in a large community-based cohort.

Ankles were selected from the assessed data of the Johnston County OA Project without radiographic OA. Ankles with self-reported preliminary injury were included as injury cases (n =108) along with 1:1 randomly selected non-injured ankles. Ankle shape, define a 68 point model on weight-bearing lateral ankle radiographs was entered into a statistical shape model, producing a mean form and a set of continuous variables (modes) representing variation in that shape. Nineteen methods, describing 80% of shape variance, were included in a logistic regression model with injury status as the dependent variable. It was adjusted for intra-person correlation, sex, race, body mass index (BMI), baseline OA radiographic grade, and baseline symptoms.

Overall 194 participants (213 ankles) were included; mean age 71 years, BMI 30 kg/m2,71% women and 67% white and injured ankles were more often characteristic and from whites. In a model regulate only for intra-person correlation and relationship were seen between injury status and various modes. Fully adjusted model, race strongly affected the evaluate for method 1 (which was no longer statistically significant).

Evaluations displayed variations with race in ankle shape and history of injury. This new assessment may show a change in ankle morphology following injury, or that ankle morphology predisposes to injury. It was suggested that ankle shape is a potentially important factor in the development of ankle OA.