Early life modifiable risk factors for the development of knee osteoarthritis: protocol for a systematic review

Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of OA which affects knee joints and there is currently no disease-modifying treatment available for OA. Therefore, an ideal strategy to prevent the development of OA is to identify and intervene at the modifiable risk factors for the development and progression of OA. Early-life factors such as obesity and malalignment may affect the mechanical aspect of the knee (i.e. alterations in normal knee kinematics) and could be the risk factor for the development of knee OA in later life. Identifying early-life (gestational factors, congenital defects, childhood, adolescence, early adulthood) factors which affect the development of knee OA in later stages of the life may help to develop targeted prevention programs in early-life itself to prevent the development of knee OA. Hence, this systematic review protocol provides the method to be used to comprehensively summarise the existing evidence on early life modifiable risk factors associated with the development and progression of knee OA.