Different subchondral trabecular bone microstructures and biomechanical properties between developmental dysplasia of the hip and primary osteoarthritis

Abstract Objective Developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) is recognized as a frequent cause of secondary osteoarthritis (OA). The purpose in this study was to compare structural and biomechanical properties of subchondral trabecular bone ​and its relationship with cartilage damage between patients with DDH and patients with primary hip OA. Methods Forty-three femoral head specimens obtained from patients who underwent total hip arthroplasty [DDH, n ​= ​17; primary OA, n ​= ​16; and normal control (NC), n ​= ​10] were scanned by microcomputed tomography and analyzed by individual trabecula segmentation to obtain the microstructural types of subchondral trabecular bone. The biomechanical properties were analyzed by micro–finite element analysis, and cartilage damage was evaluated by histology. The linear regression analysis was used to indicate the association between microstructures, biomechanical property, and articular cartilage. Results The DDH group showed the lowest total bone volume fractions (BV/TV) and plate BV/TV in the three groups (p ​ Conclusion Our findings detected deteriorating subchondral trabecular bone microstructures in patients with DDH. The mass and type of subchondral trabecular bone play a key role in mechanical properties in DDH, which might be related to cartilage damage. The translational potential of this article Our findings suggested that changes of subchondral trabecular bone play a critical role ​in DDH progression and that the improvement on subchondral trabecular bone may be a sensitive and promising way in treatment of DDH.