Study investigates links between BMI, walking with cartilage damage in the knee
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Results from a recently published study demonstrated overloading and underloading may lead to worsening cartilage damage in the medial tibiofemoral joint, and underloading may lead to worsening damage in lateral patellofemoral cartilage.
“While knee arthritis is commonly thought to be due to overloading, that is doing ‘too much,’ we find that some patients may be underloading their knees by not doing enough,” Dana Voinier, MD, told Healio.com/Orthopedics. “Walking is a common activity for people to do and is a fantastic way to keep your knees as healthy as possible."
Researchers identified 964 patients from the Multicenter Osteoarthritis Study. At the 60-month visit, BMI and the steps per day were measured with accelerometry. At the 60- and 84-month visits, investigators scored cartilage damage on MRI using the whole-organ MRI score (WORMS). They classified worsening damage as increased WORMS between visits.
Compared to patients with similar steps and low BMI (18 kg/m2 to 27 kg/m2), patients with moderate steps per day (6,000 to 7,900) and high BMI(>32 kg/m2) had 2.83-times the risk for worsening medial tibiofemoral damage and those with high steps per day (>7,900) and high BMI had 2.61-times the risk. According to researchers, patients with low steps per day (<6,000) and low BMI had 2.03-times the risk for worsening medial tibiofemoral damage and 2.28-times the risk for lateral patellofemoral damage compared with patients with high steps per day and low BMI.
Investigators noted that in the lateral tibiofemoral and medial patellofemoral joints, BMI did not correlate with an increased risk for worsening cartilage damage in any level of steps per day. – by Monica Jaramillo
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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