Article Text
Abstract
Objectives We examined the effects of fat deposition on radiographic osteoarthritis (OA) to determine the role of obesity in the pathogenesis of radiographic OA.
Methods Data were taken from the Dong-gu cohort, a cross-sectional study of 2,367 subjects. Baseline characteristics, waist circumference (WC), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), fat mass, and fat percentage were collected, along with X-rays of the knees and hands. Total knee and hand radiographic OA scores were summed using a semi-quantitative grading system, and then stratified by gender using a multiple linear regression model.
Results After adjusting for confounders, weight was the only factor significantly associated with knee radiographic OA, regardless of gender (all p<0.01). Regarding the hand, fat percentage had the largest effect on radiographic OA in males (p=0.008), while WHR was the most significant factor in females (p=0.001). For the knee, fat mass was the most important factor for radiographic OA in males (p=0.001), while in females, body mass index was the most important factor (p<0.001). Among the variables, only fat percentage was significantly related to both hand and knee radiographic OA in both genders (all p<0.01).
Conclusions Regardless of gender, mechanical stress was significantly associated with knee radiographic OA. Otherwise, fat deposition correlated with hand and knee radiographic OA in both genders, while the distribution of fat tissue was significantly associated with hand and knee radiographic OA only in females, with the largest effect on hand and knee radiographic OA.
Disclosure of Interest None declared