Quantifying knee-adjacent subcutaneous fat in the entire OAI baseline dataset – Associations with cartilage MRI T2, thickness and pain, independent of body mass index (BMI)
Authors' conclusion
Greater kaSCF was associated with thinner cartilage in men, higher T2 in women, reduced knee strength, and greater knee pain, independent of BMI.
Study context
- Population
- Entire OAI cohort, baseline 3.0T MRI of the right kneeOAI cohort
- Participants
- 4,796 participants
- Exposure
- Standardized knee-adjacent subcutaneous fat (kaSCF) thickness and cartilage thickness, T2, pain and knee extension strength
- Outcome
- Associations between standardized kaSCF and cartilage thickness, T2, pain and knee extension strength, independent of BMI
- Follow-up
- Baseline
Methodological detailsdeep learning segmentation, regression models adjusted for age, gender, BMI and race
- Deep learning segmentation
- Regression models adjusted for age, gender, BMI and race
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Associations of greater average kaSCF
Cartilage thickness in men (thinner), std. β
−0.029
95% CI −0.050 to −0.007p=0.010
T2 in women (higher), std. β
0.169
95% CI 0.072 to 0.265p=0.001
Knee extension force, all participants (lower), std. β
−15.36
95% CI −20.39 to −10.33p<0.001
Frequent knee pain, all participants, std. OR
1.156
95% CI 1.046 to 1.278p=0.005
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
Model prediction CVs for kaSCF thickness across femoral and tibial regions
- CV range
- 3.57% to 9.87%
Original publication
Quantifying knee-adjacent subcutaneous fat in the entire OAI baseline dataset – Associations with cartilage MRI T2, thickness and pain, independent of BMI. Osteoarthritis Cartilage. Published 27 January 2025. doi:10.
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