ArticleArthritis & rheumatology (Hoboken, N.J.)2022
Progressive Increase in Sacroiliac Joint and Spinal Lesions Detected on Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Healthy Individuals in Relation to Age.
Article in Arthritis & rheumatology (Hoboken, N.J.), 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers.
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Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 36 citations in OpenAlex.
- Rethinking imaging in axial spondyloarthritis: toward diagnostic maturity.EULAR rheumatology open · 2026Review
- Year in Review: Axial Spondyloarthritis.Mediterranean journal of rheumatology · 2026Review
- Late onset axial spondyloarthritis presenting with fever of unknown origin. A case-based review.Rheumatology international · 2026Article
- When it is not sacroiliitis.Skeletal radiology · 2025Review
- Article
- Long-term evolution of postpartum sacroiliac bone marrow oedema: a 5-year longitudinal follow-up study.RMD open · 2025Article
- Imaging of Sacroiliac Pain: The Current State-of-the-Art.Journal of personalized medicine · 2024Review
- Year in Review in Axial Spondyloarthritis Clinical Research and Guidelines: SPARTAN 2023 Annual Meeting Proceedings.Current rheumatology reports · 2024Review
- The sacroiliac joint across ages - what is normal?Therapeutic advances in musculoskeletal disease · 2024Review
- Radiomics-based machine learning model to phenotype hip involvement in ankylosing spondylitis: a pilot study.Frontiers in immunology · 2024Article
- Predominant ligament-centric soft-tissue involvement differentiates axial psoriatic arthritis from ankylosing spondylitis.Nature reviews. Rheumatology · 2023Review
- Assessment of axial spondyloarthritis activity using a magnetic resonance imaging-based multi-region-of-interest fusion model.Arthritis research & therapy · 2023Article
- Sex-specific diagnostic efficacy of MRI in axial spondyloarthritis: challenging the 'One Size Fits All' notion.RMD open · 2023Article
- HLA-B27 status and inflammatory MRI lesions of the sacroiliac joints: a post hoc analysis in patients without axial spondyloarthritis.RMD open · 2023Article
- Axial Spondyloarthritis and Diagnostic Challenges: Over-diagnosis, Misdiagnosis, and Under-diagnosis.Current rheumatology reports · 2023Review
- Diagnostics of Sacroiliac Joint Differentials to Axial Spondyloarthritis Changes by Magnetic Resonance Imaging.Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Review
- Sacroiliac Bone Marrow Edema: Innocent Until Proven Guilty?Arthritis & rheumatology (Hoboken, N.J.) · 2022Article
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11 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveMagnetic resonance imaging (MRI) plays a pivotal role in spondyloarthritis (SpA) diagnosis. However, a detailed description of MRI findings of the sacroiliac (SI) joints and spine in healthy individuals is currently lacking. This study was undertaken to evaluate the occurrence of MRI-detected SI joint and spinal lesions in healthy individuals in relation to age.
methodsNinety-five healthy subjects (ages 20-49 years) underwent MRI of the SI joints and spine. Bone marrow edema (BME) and structural lesions of the SI joints were scored using the Spondyloarthritis Research Consortium of Canada (SPARCC) method. Spinal inflammatory and structural lesions were evaluated using the SPARCC MRI spine inflammation index and the Canada-Denmark MRI scoring system, respectively. Fulfillment of the Assessment of SpondyloArthritis international Society definition of a positive MRI for sacroiliitis/spondylitis was reviewed. Findings were compared to MRIs of axial SpA patients from the Belgian Inflammatory Arthritis and Spondylitis cohort.
resultsOf the subjects ≥30 years old, 17.2% fulfilled the definition of a positive MRI for sacroiliitis, but this occurred rarely in younger subjects. SI joint erosions (20.0%) and fat metaplasia (13.7%) were detected across all age groups. Erosions were more frequently visualized in subjects ages ≥40 years (39.3%). Spinal BME (35.7%) and fat metaplasia (28.6%) were common in subjects older than 40 years. Nonetheless, only 1 subject had ≥3 corner inflammatory lesions. SI joint and spinal SPARCC scores and total structural lesions scores increased progressively with age.
conclusionContrary to what is commonly believed, structural MRI-detected SI joint lesions are frequently seen in healthy individuals. Especially in older subjects, the high occurrence of inflammatory and structural MRI-detected lesions impacts their specificity for SpA, which has important implications for the interpretation of MRIs in patients with a clinical suspicion of SpA.
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