Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, USA.
Center for American Indian and Rural Health Equity, Translational Biomarkers Core Laboratory, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, USA.
BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2023 Jan 31;24(1):80. doi: 10.1186/s12891-022-05979-2.
Agricultural workers have a higher incidence of osteoarthritis (OA), but the etiology behind this phenomenon is unclear. Calving season, which occurs in mid- to late-winter for ranchers, includes physical conditions that may elevate OA risk. Our primary aim was to determine whether OA biomarkers are elevated at the peak of calving season compared to pre-season, and to compare these data with joint health survey information from the subjects. Our secondary aim was to detect biomarker differences between male and female ranchers.
During collection periods before and during calving season, male (n = 28) and female (n = 10) ranchers completed joint health surveys and provided samples of blood, urine, and saliva for biomarker analysis. Statistical analyses examined associations between mean biomarker levels and survey predictors. Ensemble cluster analysis identified groups having unique biomarker profiles.
The number of calvings performed by each rancher positively correlated with plasma IL-6, serum hyaluronic acid (HA) and urinary CTX-I. Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), a marker of oxidative stress, was significantly higher during calving season than pre-season and was also correlated with ranchers having more months per year of joint pain. We found evidence of sexual dimorphism in the biomarkers among the ranchers, with leptin being elevated and matrix metalloproteinase-3 diminished in female ranchers. The opposite was detected in males. WOMAC score was positively associated with multiple biomarkers: IL-6, IL-2, HA, leptin, C2C, asymmetric dimethylarginine, and CTX-I. These biomarkers represent enzymatic degradation, inflammation, products of joint destruction, and OA severity.
The positive association between number of calvings performed by each rancher (workload) and both inflammatory and joint tissue catabolism biomarkers establishes that calving season is a risk factor for OA in Montana ranchers. Consistent with the literature, we found important sex differences in OA biomarkers, with female ranchers showing elevated leptin, whereas males showed elevated MMP-3.
农业工人患骨关节炎（OA）的发病率较高，但这种现象的病因尚不清楚。牧场的产犊季节通常在冬末到早春，其包含的一些身体状况可能会增加 OA 的发病风险。我们的主要目的是确定在产犊季节高峰期，OA 生物标志物是否高于产犊前，并且将这些数据与受试者的关节健康调查信息进行比较。我们的次要目的是检测男性和女性牧场主之间的生物标志物差异。
在产犊前和产犊期间的采集期内，男性（n=28）和女性（n=10）牧场主完成了关节健康调查，并提供了血液、尿液和唾液样本用于生物标志物分析。统计分析检查了平均生物标志物水平与调查预测因子之间的关联。集合聚类分析确定了具有独特生物标志物特征的群体。
每位牧场主的产犊数量与血浆白细胞介素-6（IL-6）、血清透明质酸（HA）和尿液 CTX-I 呈正相关。产犊季节的硫代巴比妥酸反应物质（TBARS），一种氧化应激标志物，明显高于产犊前，并且与每年有更多月份关节疼痛的牧场主也相关。我们在牧场主中发现了生物标志物存在性别的二态性，瘦素升高，基质金属蛋白酶-3（MMP-3）降低。而在男性中则相反。WOMAC 评分与多种生物标志物呈正相关：IL-6、IL-2、HA、瘦素、C2C、非对称二甲基精氨酸和 CTX-I。这些生物标志物代表酶降解、炎症、关节破坏产物和 OA 严重程度。
每位牧场主的产犊数量（工作量）与炎症和关节组织分解代谢生物标志物之间的正相关关系表明，产犊季节是蒙大拿州牧场主患 OA 的一个风险因素。与文献一致，我们发现 OA 生物标志物存在重要的性别差异，女性牧场主的瘦素升高，而男性的 MMP-3 升高。
