Familial association and epidemilogical factors as risk factors for developing first time and recurrent patella dislocation: a systematic review and best knowledge synthesis of present literature

Purpose The aim of our study was to perform a systematic review and best knowledge synthesis of the present literature concerning the familial association and epidemiological factors as risk factors for developing first-time and recurrent patella dislocation. Methods The study was conducted according to the PRISMA guidelines and registered in PROSPERO. EMBASE and PubMed were systematically searched on the 5th of May 2022. Studies investigating participants with genetic and epidemiological risk factors for the first time as well as recurrent patella dislocation were included. The records were screened, and data were extracted independently by two researchers supervised by a third independent assessor. Results A total of 6,649 records were screened, and 67 studies were included. Familial association was described as a risk factor for patella dislocation in 17 studies. One study found that participants with a family history of patella dislocation had a 3.7 higher risk for patella dislocation in the contralateral asymptomatic knee, and another study found a family history of PD in 9% of 74 participants. Eleven studies found an accumulation of patella dislocation across generations in specific families. Additionally, a range of genetic syndromes was associated with patella dislocation. Young age is a well-investigated risk factor for patella dislocation, but the results are inconsistent. Only five and eight studies investigated skeletal immaturity and gender as risk factors for patella dislocation, respectively. Conclusion There may be a familial association with patella dislocation, but further investigation is necessary to determine the strength and etiology of the association. There is weak evidence that epidemiological risk factors, such as age, skeletal immaturity, gender, and BMI are risk factors for patella dislocation. Level of evidence IV.