Adiposity and clinical outcomes of knee osteoarthritis: Sex-specific analysis from the FEAST trial
Authors' conclusion
Adiposity was associated with poorer outcomes, with significant sex-specific effects observed for knee-related QoL and functional performance for females but not males.
Study context
- Population
- Participants with knee OA enrolled in the FEAST RCT (age 65±8 years, body mass index (BMI) 30.3±6.2 kg/m², 64% female)64% female
- Participants
- 144 participants
- Exposure
- Females vs males: associations of total and visceral adiposity (DXA) with clinical outcomes
- Outcome
- Sex-specific associations of adiposity measures (total fat mass, percent fat mass, visceral fat mass, percent visceral fat mass) with knee symptoms (Knee Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) subscales), quality-of-life (QoL) (EQ-5D) and functional performance (40 m walk)
- Follow-up
- Baseline
Methodological detailssecondary analysis of baseline data from the FEAST randomised controlled trial, linear regression with sex*adiposity interaction term
- Secondary analysis of baseline data from the FEAST randomised controlled trial
- Linear regression with sex*adiposity interaction term
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
KOOS-QoL per 1-unit increase in percent body fat
Regression coefficient per 1-unit increase in percent body fat
−1.2
95% CI −1.8 to −0.6
Females
Regression coefficient per 1-unit increase in percent body fat
0.1
95% CI −0.9–1.1
Males
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
Other adiposity–outcome comparisons · baseline
- No significant interaction effect; in females greater total and visceral fat mass largely associated with worse clinical outcomes, generally not in males
Original publication
Adiposity and clinical outcomes of knee osteoarthritis: Sex-specific analysis from the FEAST trial. Osteoarthritis Cartilage. Published 16 June 2026. doi:10.
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