THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN OSTEOARTHRITIS AND OSTEOPOROSIS IN THE HIP

A randomized block design was used in 126 elderly subjects to compare the Singh index and degree of osteoarthritis in the hip joint between an osteoarthritis group, a femoral neck fracture group, and a normal c ontrol group. The two indices were highly significantly different betw een the three groups (p < 0.01). The Singh index was higher in the ost eoarthritic patients than in the fracture patients (p < 0.01) and the normal control subjects (p < 0.05). The degree of osteoarthritis in th e fracture patients was lower than in the osteoarthritic patients (p < 0.01) but not significantly different from that in the normal control subjects (p < 0.06). These data from an Asian population support the conclusion from other populations that osteoarthritis and osteoporosis in the hip are inversely related.