A three-dimensional digital study on clinical anatomy of the acetabulum in elderly population aged 65–84 years in inner Mongolia, China

To investigate the three-dimensional anatomical characteristics of the acetabulum in normal elderly people aged 65–84 years in Inner Mongolia, China, and provide data support for the precise design of acetabular prostheses and individualized treatment in total hip arthroplasty (THA). A total of 240 eligible elderly patients (480 hip joints in total) were selected and divided into 4 groups at 5-year intervals within the 65–84 years age range. CT scans were performed to obtain acetabular imaging data, and Mimics 21.0 software was used to reconstruct the three-dimensional model of the pelvis-acetabulum. Five acetabular parameters (superoinferior diameter, anteroposterior diameter, abduction angle, anteversion angle, depth) were measured, and statistical analysis was conducted using SPSS 27.0 software. Significant gender differences were observed in acetabular size parameters (superoinferior diameter, anteroposterior diameter, depth), with males showing larger values than females, while no significant gender differences were found in angular parameters (abduction angle, anteversion angle). There were no significant left-right differences in acetabular parameters in either gender. Among age-related variations, only the anteroposterior diameter in males and depth in females showed significant differences between age groups. Correlation analysis revealed weak negative correlations between age and partial parameters, and stronger linkage between acetabular parameters in males. Acetabular anatomical parameters of normal elderly people in Inner Mongolia have significant gender differences, with limited clinical value of age-related changes in guiding prosthesis selection, and no left-right differences. During THA, it is necessary to optimize the size design of acetabular prostheses based on gender characteristics, without adjusting prosthesis types according to age, and left-right symmetric design is applicable to this population.