The study by Weber et al,1 investigating the effect of age on active and structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) lesions in the sacroiliac joints (SIJs) of healthy individuals and patients with nonspecific back pain (NSBP), provides important insights that refine our understanding of the diagnostic utility of MRI findings in axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA).
MRI scans from healthy volunteers and patients with NSBP aged ≤ 45 years from 3 independent cohorts (MORPHO; Scientific Investigation of MRI and Biochemical Markers in Patients With Axial Spondyloarthritis, Back Pain of Other Reasons, Subjects With Strain in the Sacroiliac Joints and Healthy Subjects [MASH]; and Assessment of SpondyloArthritis international Society classification cohort [ASAS-CC]) were reviewed by 2-7 trained and calibrated readers per cohort.1
