Masters Thesis

Interpreting osteoarthritis prevalence rates in the Santa Clara County Valley Medical Center (SCVMC) Historic Cemetery

Degenerative joint disease, otherwise known as osteoarthritis (OA), is one of the oldest and most common pathologies affecting the human skeleton. Although it is not the only marker of stress that can be viewed on the human skeleton, it is certianly one of the most informative in terms of the health and biomechanical function of an individual. This thesis focused on osteoarthritis prevalence rates among individuals interred at the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center Cemetery, previously known as the County Infirmary, which was in use from 1871 until 1935. This area was primarily populated by immigrants who worked in agriculture, railroad construction, and mining. Osteoarthritis patterns in particular, provide insight on the levels of functional stress experienced by these indivdiuals. Results from this sample correlate with historically documented demographics, workload, and the social structure at the time. Overall males tend to dominate the sample and are the group that shows higher OA prevalence rates. Of this male group, upper limbs including the shoulder, elbow, wrist, as well as the hip tend to be the most affected in the sample. The higher frequency rates in upper limb OA may correlate with the types of occupations these individuals had at the time, which included agriculture, mining, and railroad construction.These OA prevalence patterns can aid research in further explorations of the many etiologies that trigger OA as well as the impact OA may have had on an indivduals life during this time.

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