Comparison of the prevalence of knee osteoarthritis between the elderly Chinese population in Beijing and whites in the United States: The Beijing osteoarthritis study

Using identical methods and definitions to evaluate the prevalence of OA across populations, we found, surprisingly, that older Chinese women have a higher prevalence of knee OA than women in Framingham, Massachusetts. The prevalence in men was comparable. Possible explanations for these differences range from genetic differences to heavy physical activity among Chinese.