Abstract
Background:
Discoid meniscus epidemiology remains poorly defined for race and sex, in part, due to limitations of retrospective studies and small case series. A better understanding of epidemiology may improve clinical care and diagnostic precision.
Purpose:
Our purpose is to better define the epidemiology of discoid meniscus by analyzing a large, national database for incidence rates by sex and race.
Methods:
Analysis was conducted on the national-scale Clinformatics Data Mart Database by Optum. Proportions of the database’s racial categories (Asian, Black, Hispanic, White, and Unknown) in the total population of diagnosed discoid meniscus cases (n = 1,006) were calculated and compared via chi-squared tests to the total database population (n = 65,759,970). This analysis was repeated for the population of patients who received knee arthroscopies (81,205). Incidence rates were calculated from these populations as well. Finally, a multivariable logistic regression analysis based on the population of arthroscopy-receiving patients was performed to control for age, reported gender, and income.
Results:
Proportions of Asian, Black, Hispanic, and White racial categories in the discoid meniscus group were 5.7%, 7.3%, 20.6%, 66.4%, respectively; the proportions of each racial category in the total population were 5.2%, 10.3%, 13.5%, 71.0%, respectively. Incidence rates (per 10,000) for these groups in the arthroscopy population were 72.9, 25.6, 49.2, 25.6, respectively. Our logistic regression model indicated that race was not a statistically significant predictor for our dataset after income adjusting. Adjusting for other covariates, the odds of a discoid meniscus diagnosis decreased by 6% for each increase in age (p < 0.001) and were 41% lower for males compared to females (p < 0.001).
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