Resumen de Osteoarthritis as an indicator of demographic structure of past populations: The example of a Portuguese Medieval sample
A paleodemographic and paleopathological study of the skeletal sample of S. Joao de Almedina, coming from the church with the same name, in Coimbra, Portugal and dated from the 12th to the 14th century had been carried out. In the present papel' the results concerning osteoarthritis, its frequency and meaning, are presented. In a sample of nearly 40 adults, both vertebral column and appendicular skeleton were analyzed. In what osteoarthritis of the spine is concerned, the results obtained, with the highest incidence in lumbar spine followed by cervical and thoracic region, are in agreement with the observations on nowadays populations. The disease affects both men and women being the prevalence, as expected, higher in older individuals. The articulations on appendicular skeleton affected by this kind of disease vary with age, being the upper limbs more affected than the lower ones. The great incidence of osteoarthritis, both in the vertebral column and in the limb articulations, is in agreement with the demographic structure of the present population where a significant number of individuals older than 55 years were found. Therefore, in this papel', we try to demonstrate the usefulness of osteoarthritis to a good knowledge and interpretation of the demographic profiles of past populations.
