Association Between Prediabetes and Osteoarthritis: A Meta-Analysis.

Some studies have suggested that diabetes may be a risk factor for osteoarthritis. However, whether prediabetes is also associated with osteoarthritis has not been comprehensively examined. We performed a meta-analysis to evaluate the relationship between prediabetes and osteoarthritis. This meta-analysis included relevant observational studies from Medline, Embase, and Web of Science databases. A random-effect model after incorporation of the intra-study heterogeneity was selected to pool the results. Ten datasets from six observational studies were included, which involved 41 226 general adults and 10 785 (26.2%) of them were prediabetic. Pooled results showed that prediabetes was not independently associated with osteoarthritis [risk ratio (RR): 1.07, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.00 to 1.14, p=0.06, I=0%]. Sensitivity limited to studies with adjustment of age and body mass index showed consistent result (RR: 1.06, 95% CI: 0.99 to 1.14, p=0.09, I=0%). Results of subgroup analyses showed that prediabetes was not associated with osteoarthritis in cross-sectional or cohort studies, in studies including Asian or non-Asian population, or in studies with different quality scores (p for subgroup difference>0.10). Besides, prediabetes was not associated with osteoarthritis in men or in women, in studies with prediabetes defined as impaired fasting glucose, impaired glucose tolerance, or HbA1c (approximately 39-46 mmol/mol). Moreover, prediabetes was not associated with overall osteoarthritis, and knee or hip osteoarthritis. Current evidence does not support that prediabetes is independently associated with osteoarthritis in adult population.