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Abstract Objectives Adipose tissue has been associated with knee osteoarthritis (KOA) pathogenesis, but the longitudinal changes in adipose tissue with KOA progression have not been carefully evaluated. This study aimed to determine if longitudinal changes of systemic and local adipose tissue is associated with radiographic progression of KOA. Methods This case-control study used data from the Osteoarthritis Initiative (OAI) and included 315 cases (all the right knees with a minimum of Kellgren-Lawrence score (KL) of 0 and an increase of ≥ 1 KL from baseline to 48 months) and 315 controls matched by age, sex, race, and baseline KL. Cross sectional area of IPFP (IPFP CSA) and subcutaneous adipose tissue around the distal thigh (SCAT thigh) were measured using MRI images at baseline and 24 months. Conditional logistic regression models were fitted to estimate associations of obesity markers, IPFP CSA, and SCAT thigh with radiographic KOA progression. Mediation analysis was used to assess whether IPFP CSA or SCAT thigh mediates the relationships between baseline BMI and radiographic KOA progression. Results 24-month changes of IPFP CSA (ΔIPFP CSA) and SCAT thigh (ΔSCAT thigh ) were significantly greater in cases compared to controls, whereas Δ BMI and Δ abdominal circumference were similar in both groups during follow-up. Adjusted ORs for radiographic KOA progression were 9.299, 95% CI (5.357–16.141) per 1 SD increase of Δ IPFP CSA and 1.646, 95% CI (1.288–2.103) per 1 SD increase of Δ SCAT thigh . ΔIPFP CSA mediated the association between baseline BMI and radiographic KOA progression (87%). Conclusions Subjects with radiographic progression of KOA, had significant increases in IPFP CSA and subcutaneous adipose tissue while BMI and abdominal circumference remained stable. Additional studies are needed to confirm these associations.
Lee et al. (Tue,) studied this question.