Cartilage Degeneration, Osteoarthritis Symptoms, and Weight Loss in Obese and Overweight Individuals

Post on February 10, 2016 by André Broussard, D.C.

Osteoarthritis and Cartilage Home

February 09, 2016
Osteoarthritis and Cartilage/OARS, Osteoarthritis Research Society

TAKE-HOME MESSAGE

  • People with mild to moderate knee osteoarthritis (OA) and a BMI ≥25 kg/m2 were followed for 48 months to evaluate the effect of varying amounts of weight loss on cartilage degeneration, measured with 3T MRI-based T2 values, and symptoms. The amount of weight lost correlated with change in cartilage T2 of the medial tibia. An increase of T2 in the medial tibia showed a significant association with increases in pain symptoms and disability. Grey-level co-occurrence matrix contrast and variance in all knee compartments progressed significantly less in the group losing >10% of their body weight than in the group who did not lose any weight.
  • In overweight and obese patients with OA, loss of weight is associated with slowing of the degenerative process in the knee cartilage, which leads to symptom improvement.

     

Abstract

OBJECTIVE

To investigate compositional cartilage changes measured with 3T MRI-based T2 values over 48 months in overweight and obese individuals with different degrees of weight loss and to study whether weight loss slows knee cartilage degeneration and symptom worsening.

DESIGN

We studied participants from the Osteoarthritis Initiative with risk factors or radiographic evidence of mild to moderate knee OA with a baseline BMI ≥25kg/m(2). We selected subjects who over 48 months lost a, moderate (BMI change, 5-10%, n=180) or large amount of weight (≥10%, n=78) and frequency-matched these to individuals with stable weight relative to their baseline BMI (<3%, n=258). T2 maps of the cartilage compartments of the right knee, grey-level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM) texture and laminar analyses were evaluated and associations with weight loss and clinical symptoms (WOMAC subscales for pain, stiffness and disability) were assessed using multivariable regression models adjusting for age, sex, baseline BMI and KL.

RESULTS

The amount of weight change was significantly associated with change in cartilage T2 of the medial tibia (β 0.9ms, 95%CI 0.4 to 1.1, P=0.001). An increase of T2 in the medial tibia was significantly associated with an increase in WOMAC pain (β 0.5ms, 95%CI 0.2 to 0.6, P=0.02) and disability (β 0.03ms, 95%CI 0.003 to 0.05, P=0.03. GLCM contrast and variance over all compartments showed significantly less progression in the >10% weight loss group compared to the stable weight group (both comparisons, P=0.04).

CONCLUSIONS

Weight loss over 48 months is associated with slowed knee cartilage degeneration and improved knee symptoms.

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Journal Abstract

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