SynthesisOsteoarthritis and cartilage2023
Uncovering the "riddle of femininity" in osteoarthritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis of menopausal animal models and mathematical modeling of estrogen treatment.
Synthesis in Osteoarthritis and cartilage, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 19 citations in OpenAlex.
- Beyond birth control: how oral contraceptives impact skeletal muscle health: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of applied physiology (Bethesda, Md. : 1985) · 2026Pooled it
- Endocrine‑metabolic imbalance drives osteoarthritis: From whole‑joint pathobiology to precision therapy (Review).International journal of molecular medicine · 2026Review
- A preliminary investigation of gene expression and levels of FSH, IL-10, and TNF-α and histological staining in natural aging mice.Turkish journal of obstetrics and gynecology · 2026Article
- Osteoarthritis as a systemic disease.Nature reviews. Rheumatology · 2026Review
- Advanced Biomaterial-Based In Vitro Osteoarthritis Models: Integrating Sex as a Biological Variable in Hormonal, Subchondral Bone, and Mechanobiological Pathways.Journal of functional biomaterials · 2026Review
- Immunometabolic reprogramming in osteoporosis-osteoarthritis comorbidity: from inflammaging to osteochondral unit degeneration.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Biological Sex Is Under-Reported in Cartilage-Related Preclinical Research: A Cross-Sectional Analysis.JOR spine · 2025Article
- Asthma, social isolation and loneliness, and risk of incident osteoarthritis.Arthritis research & therapy · 2025Article
- Article
- The intersection of aging and estrogen in osteoarthritis.npj women's health · 2025Review
- Menopause-induced 17β-estradiol and progesterone loss increases senescence markers, matrix disassembly and degeneration in mouse cartilage.Nature aging · 2025Article
- S-Equol Ameliorates Menopausal Osteoarthritis in Rats through Reducing Oxidative Stress and Cartilage Degradation.Nutrients · 2024Article
- The association between sex hormones and prevalence of OA in US adults.Frontiers in medicine · 2024Article
- Low back pain and osteoarthritis pain: a perspective of estrogen.Bone research · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
objectivePost-menopausal women are disproportionately affected by osteoarthritis (OA). As such, the purpose of this study was to (1) summarize the state-of-the-science aimed at understanding the effects of menopause on OA in animal models and (2) investigate how dosage and timing of initiation of estrogen treatment affect cartilage degeneration.
designA systematic review identified articles studying menopausal effects on cartilage in preclinical models. A meta-analysis was performed using overlapping cartilage outcomes in conjunction with a rigor and reproducibility analysis. Ordinary differential equation models were used to determine if a relationship exists between cartilage degeneration and the timing of initiation or dosage of estrogen treatment.
resultsThirty-eight manuscripts were eligible for inclusion. The most common menopause model used was ovariectomy (92%), and most animals were young at the time of menopause induction (86%). Most studies did not report inclusion criteria, animal monitoring, protocol registration, or data accessibility. Cartilage outcomes were worse in post-menopausal animals compared to age-matched, non-menopausal animals, as evidenced by cartilage histological scoring [0.75, 1.72], cartilage thickness [-4.96, -0.96], type II collagen [-4.87, -0.56], and c-terminal cross-linked telopeptide of type II collagen (CTX-II) [2.43, 5.79] (95% CI of Effect Size (+greater in menopause, -greater in non-menopause)). Moreover, modeling suggests that cartilage health may be improved with early initiation and higher doses of estrogen treatment.
conclusionsTo improve translatability, animal models that consider aging and natural menopause should be utilized, and more attention to rigor and reproducibility is needed. Timing of initiation and dosage may be important factors modulating therapeutic effects of estrogen on cartilage.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.