ИСТИНА

Background: The Osseographic Score (OSS) is a radiographic semi-quantitative measure of skeletal aging combining osteoporotic and osteoarthritic changes of the hand skeleton. OSS can be used as a skeletal biomarker of biological aging. Objective: to evaluate the association between certain chronic morbidities and OSS in a large population-based study. Methods: The sample population consisted of the Chuvashia residing in numerous villages in a rural area of the Russian Federation. The investigated cohort included 668 males aged 18-89 years and 608 females aged 18-81 years. An experienced research physician sorted morbidity data obtained from the medical records into 16 categories. To elucidate the association between morbidity and age-adjusted OSS score, we used one-way ANOVA wherein the OSS score was the dependent variable and presence or absence of a specific disease was a grouping variable. Results: Statistically significant differences between OSS scores in affected vs. non-affected individuals were found in the rheumatic diseases group (p<0.05) and in ischemic heart disease and pulmonary diseases groups (p<0.1). Traumatic brain injuries and gynecological diseases also showed differences, however, after correction for multiple testing, the results were statistically non-significant. Conclusion: Individuals who suffer from the aforementioned chronic diseases may show a higher degree of skeletal (and therefore maybe biological) aging. Further research is needed to clarify the biological mechanisms of association between certain types of morbidities and skeletal / biological aging rate. We proposed the mechanism of association between chronic morbidity and skeletal ageing.