Table 3

Cross-sectional associations between measures of adiposity and cartilage thickness: mediating roles of leptin

	Unadjusted		Multivariable*		Multivariable†
	β (95% CI)	p Value	β (95% CI)	p Value	β (95% CI)	p Value
BMI
Femoral cartilage	−0.015 (−0.031 to 0.001)	0.073	−0.019 (−0.036 to −0.002)	0.025	−0.001 (−0.022 to 0.021)	0.941
Medial tibial cartilage	−0.011 (−0.024 to 0.003)	0.115	−0.010 (−0.024 to 0.004)	0.173	0.002 (−0.016 to 0.020)	0.818
Lateral tibial cartilage	−0.012 (−0.028 to 0.005)	0.172	−0.013 (−0.030 to 0.003)	0.100	0.002 (−0.019 to 0.023)	0.829
Patellar cartilage	−0.013 (−0.035 to 0.008)	0.228	−0.026 (−0.047 to −0.006)	0.012	−0.003 (−0.030 to 0.024)	0.821
Trunk fat (%)
Femoral cartilage	−0.022 (−0.030 to −0.013)	<0.001	−0.008 (−0.021 to 0.006)	0.272	0.005 (−0.011 to 0.021)	0.540
Medial tibial cartilage	−0.016 (−0.023 to −0.009)	<0.001	−0.006 (−0.018 to 0.005)	0.264	0.002 (−0.011 to 0.015)	0.767
Lateral tibial cartilage	−0.023 (−0.032 to −0.014)	<0.001	−0.014 (−0.027 to −0.001)	0.039	−0.006 (−0.021 to 0.009)	0.439
Patellar cartilage	−0.026 (−0.038 to −0.015)	<0.001	−0.008 (−0.025 to 0.009)	0.354	0.007 (−0.012 to 0.027)	0.455
Total fat (%)
Femoral cartilage	−0.026 (−0.034 to −0.018)	<0.001	−0.009 (−0.027 to 0.010)	0.351	0.010 (−0.011 to 0.031)	0.367
Medial tibial cartilage	−0.019 (−0.026 to −0.012)	<0.001	−0.009 (−0.024 to 0.006)	0.229	0.002 (−0.016 to 0.020)	0.820
Lateral tibial cartilage	−0.028 (−0.036 to −0.020)	<0.001	−0.020 (−0.037 to −0.003)	0.021	−0.010 (−0.030 to 0.010)	0.324
Patellar cartilage	−0.034 (−0.045 to −0.023)	<0.001	−0.010 (−0.033 to 0.012)	0.361	0.011 (−0.014 to 0.037)	0.385

Dependent variable: mean cartilage thickness (mm) in respective compartment. Independent variable: BMI (kg/m²), percentage trunk fat or percentage total fat.
*Adjusted for age, sex, height (except for BMI), radiographic OA and lean mass.
†Further adjusted for baseline leptin. Data in bold denote statistically significant results.
BMI, body mass index; OA, osteoarthritis.