Fig 1.
Geographic location of modern city Anyang (inset) and the two sites of this study: (1) Xin’anzhuang and (2) Xiaomintun.
Adapted from [5].
Table 1.
Demographic distribution of the samples analysed in this study* (see S1 Table for detailed specimen numbers).
Table 2.
Crude prevalence of osteoarthritis (Affected / Observed) by sex and age.
Fig 2.
Eburnation (arrows) on the left inferior cervical apophyseal facet (2007AXAM140).
Scale bar = 1cm.
Fig 3.
Eburnation (arrows) on the left glenoid fossa (2007AXAM165).
Scale bar = 1cm.
Fig 4.
Osteoarthritis in major appendicular joints and osseous changes in the spine.
Red square highlights the difference with P values less than 0.05. Chart is based on the age-pooled crude prevalence; P value is from OR analysis.
Fig 5.
Frequency of osteoarthritis in major appendicular joints and osseous changes in the spine at Xin’anzhuang and Xiaomintun.
Blue squares highlight differences with P values less than 0.05. Chart is based on the age-pooled crude prevalence; P value is from OR analysis.
Fig 6.
Frequency of osteoarthritis in males by site.
Red squares highlight differences with P values less than 0.05. Chart is based on the age-pooled crude prevalence; P value is from OR analysis.
Fig 7.
Prevalence of osteoarthritis in females by site.
Red square highlights difference with P value less than 0.05. Chart is based on the age-pooled crude prevalence; P value is from OR analysis.
Table 3.
Interpretation of odds ratio results for the comparisons of osteoarthritis prevalence by sex.
Table 4.
Interpretation of odds ratio results for the comparisons of osteoarthritis prevalence by site.
Fig 8.
Schematic showing of direction and position of axial loading of spine (lateral view) and the location of compression force transfer on each vertebra (shadowed in red) (superior views).
Due to the cervical curvature and gracile structure of the vertebral arch, cervical apophyseal joints are more vulnerable to compressive forces than the other vertebrae, whereas for thoracic, extra pressure is directed mostly toward to the vertebral body, transmitting force through the bodies, intervertebral discs, and laminae. In the lumbar region, the neural arch (pedicle and the apophyseal joints) again transmits a considerable amount of compressive force from the vertebral column to the pelvis.