Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative disease progressively affecting joint cartilage and subchondral bone, leading to pain, limited range of motion and functional impairment. Knee and hip are the more frequently affected joints. There is no treatment able to cure OA or at least to slow down cartilage damage. Thus, when symptomatic treatments become ineffective, joint prosthetic replacement is the unique solution.~There is a substantial lack of information about osteoarthritis (OA) epidemiology in France, as well as in other European countries, which becomes more and more critical with population aging. The need for additional knowledge was outlined in the law about public health priorities in France, published on August 9th, 2004. In this document, a specific call is made for additional investigation on functional limitations, disability and quality of life modification of people affected by OA.~Up to now, available information is mainly limited to short- or medium-term studies, conducted in clinic-based samples. Thus, based on demography and public health conclusions, implementing population-based epidemiologic studies is required in order to improve scientific knowledge with regards to :~prevalence of symptomatic OA,~its natural history over years and potential prognostic factors influencing the disease,~its impact in terms of quality of life changes, disability, lack of autonomy and health resource use.~Our expert group, which has a substantial experience in osteoarthritis, epidemiology and health service research, has developed a 2-part research program aiming to help answering to OA-related public health questions:~Part 1: a nationwide descriptive epidemiology survey aiming to determine lower limb OA prevalence, based on a validated method previously used to assess inflammatory rheumatism (rheumatoid arthritis and spondylarthropathy) prevalence in France.~Part 2: the constitution of a population-based cohort of OA patients, aiming to collect clinical, biologic and radiological data about OA natural history, predictors of structural progression, consequences on quality of life, function and health resource use.~The present study is the part 1 of the program
Nationwide descriptive epidemiology survey aiming to determine lower limb OA prevalence, based on a validated method previously used to assess inflammatory rheumatism (rheumatoid arthritis and spondylarthropathy) prevalence in France.