Background: To determine whether obesity and markers of lipid metabolism are associated with radiological hand osteoarthritis (OA) in the Halland County Osteoarthritis (HALLOA) cohort.
Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we included 231 participants aged 30-65 from the HALLOA cohort, which began in 2017 and is ongoing. Hand OA was defined as ≥ 2 joint groups (distal interphalangeal, proximal interphalangeal, and carpometacarpal I) with Kellgren-Lawrence grade ≥ 2. The severity of hand OA was classified in terms of the number of affected joint groups (moderate hand OA 2-4 joint groups, severe hand OA 5-6 joint groups). Metabolic profile, including body mass index (BMI), bioimpedance, waist circumference, blood pressure, serum leptin, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, and triglycerides, were obtained. Multicollinearity was assessed with Pearson's correlation and associations with logistic regression analyses adjusting for age, HDL-cholesterol, and central obesity.
Results: Two-thirds of the participants were women, and 91 (39%) had hand OA. We found a relationship between LDL-cholesterol and prevalent hand OA in women with an odds ratio of 1.7 (95% CI 1.1-2.6) and an association between LDL-cholesterol and severity of hand OA in women; odds ratio for no hand OA vs. moderate hand OA was 1.6 (95% CI 1.0-2.4) and for no hand OA vs. severe hand OA 2.5 (95% CI 1.2-4.9). There were no significant relationships between hand OA and obesity or serum leptin levels.
Conclusion: Circulating LDL-cholesterol levels were associated with the prevalence and severity of hand OA in women but not men.
Trial registration: ClinicalTrials. Gov (NCT04928170), Date of registration: 2017-12-20.
Keywords: Body mass index; Cholesterol, HDL; Cholesterol, LDL; Lipid metabolism; Obestity, Abdominal; Osteoarthritis.
© 2024. The Author(s).