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Do age, gender, and region affect tibial slope? A multi-center study

  • Orthopaedic Surgery
  • Published:
Archives of Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgery Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Introduction

Tibial slope is a parameter that is important to recognize in knee kinematics and knee surgery. A very wide range of values governing posterior tibial slope exist in the literature. This study is based on the hypothesis that age, gender and region may have an effect on the tibial slope.

Materials and methods

A total of 1800 lateral knee radiographies from five different countries [Turkey, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom (UK)] were utilized to measure the native posterior tibial slope. Participants were categorized in deciles with each decade of age after 40 years determined as a separate age group. Accordingly, four different age categories were formed in total, namely, the 40- to 49-, 50- to 59-, 60–69, and 70- to 79-year-old groups. Patients with severe knee osteoarthritis, those with a history of arthroscopic and open surgery around the knee, and those with severe morbid obesity and those outside the specified age group were excluded from the study. The angle between the line tangential to the medial tibial plateau and the proximal anatomical axis of the tibia was measured.

Results

The tibial slope values of both males and females in the Turkish population were found to be higher than those in other populations. It was observed that tibial slope values increased with age in females in all populations, except for those in the Spanish and UK populations. In the male population, it was found that tibial slope values increased with age in all populations except in the Spanish population.

Conclusions

Region, age, and gender affect tibial slope in different populations in various ways. Our study shows that the region an individual lives in and living conditions affect the tibial slope.

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Data availability

The datasets generated and analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Orthopedics and Traumatology Clinics, Kirikkale Yuksek Ihtısas Hospital, Bağlarbaşı, Ahmet Ay Caddesi, 71300, Merkez/Kırıkkale, Turkey

    Serhat Akçaalan

  2. Orthopedics and Traumatology Department, Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University School of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey

    Mustafa Akkaya & Metin Dogan

  3. Orthopaedic Surgery and Traumatology Service, Hospital Universitari Son Espases, Palma de Mallorca, Spain

    Ainhoa Alvarez Valdivielso

  4. Orthopedics and Traumatology Department, Royal Bolton Hospital, Minerva Rd, Farnworth, Bolton, United Kingdom

    Moez Asaid Zeiton & Hasan Raza Mohammad

  5. Sezione di Chirurgia Protesica ad Indirizzo Robotico - Unità di Traumatologia dello Sport, U.O.C Ortopedia e Traumatologia, Fondazione Poliambulanza, Via Bissolati 57, 25124, Brescia, Italy

    Rudy Sangaletti & Francesco Benazzo

  6. IUSS, Istituto di Studi Superiori, Pavia, Italy

    Francesco Benazzo

  7. Helios ENDO-Klinik, Holstenstr, Hamburg, Germany

    Seher Kara, Thorsten Gehrke & Mustafa Citak

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  1. Serhat Akçaalan
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Correspondence to Serhat Akçaalan.

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Akçaalan, S., Akkaya, M., Dogan, M. et al. Do age, gender, and region affect tibial slope? A multi-center study. Arch Orthop Trauma Surg 143, 6983–6991 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00402-023-04976-x

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