Tuna Serpil, Kavukçu Ethem, Balcı Nilüfer
Faculty of Medicine, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Akdeniz University, Antalya, Turkey.
Faculty of Medicine, Department of Sports Medicine, Akdeniz University, Antalya, Turkey.
Int J Rheum Dis. 2025 Mar;28(3):e70179. doi: 10.1111/1756-185X.70179.
This study aims to evaluate the association between femoral cartilage thickness (FCT) and knee osteoarthritis (KO) in individuals with sarcopenia and pre-sarcopenia, highlighting the potential role of FCT in the relationship between sarcopenia and KO.
A cross-sectional study including 80 individuals (23 pre-sarcopenia, 21 sarcopenia, and 36 healthy controls) aged 40-75 years was conducted. Using ultrasound (US), FCT was measured, and KO prevalence was compared among the three groups. Logistic regression analyses were performed to determine the predictors of KO and sarcopenia, and ROC analysis was conducted to estimate sarcopenia from FCT measurements.
The mean age of the 80 participants (55 females, 25 males) was 62.22 ± 7.56 years. The sarcopenia group had significantly lower medial and lateral FCT than the control group (all p < 0.01). Logistic regression analysis indicated that age and sarcopenia were significant predictors of KO (all p < 0.01). Multinomial logistic regression showed that KO and medial FCT were significant predictors of sarcopenia (all p < 0.05). ROC analysis demonstrated that medial FCT effectively predicted sarcopenia (p = 0.001, AUC = 0.736).
The results of this study showed that FCT was reduced, and KO prevalence was increased in sarcopenia patients. Additionally, age and sarcopenia were predictors for KO, while KO and decreased medial FCT were predictors of sarcopenia. These findings suggest that sarcopenia may influence FCT through mechanical effects related to muscle strength loss and potentially other mechanisms, making it a potential risk factor for KO.
本研究旨在评估肌肉减少症和肌肉减少症前期个体的股骨软骨厚度（FCT）与膝关节骨关节炎（KO）之间的关联，突出FCT在肌肉减少症与KO关系中的潜在作用。
进行了一项横断面研究，纳入80名年龄在40 - 75岁的个体（23名肌肉减少症前期个体、21名肌肉减少症个体和36名健康对照）。使用超声（US）测量FCT，并比较三组之间的KO患病率。进行逻辑回归分析以确定KO和肌肉减少症的预测因素，并进行ROC分析以根据FCT测量值估计肌肉减少症。
80名参与者（55名女性，25名男性）的平均年龄为62.22±7.56岁。肌肉减少症组的内侧和外侧FCT显著低于对照组（所有p < 0.01）。逻辑回归分析表明，年龄和肌肉减少症是KO的显著预测因素（所有p < 0.01）。多项逻辑回归显示，KO和内侧FCT是肌肉减少症的显著预测因素（所有p < 0.05）。ROC分析表明内侧FCT能有效预测肌肉减少症（p = 0.001，AUC = 0.736）。
本研究结果表明，肌肉减少症患者的FCT降低，KO患病率增加。此外，年龄和肌肉减少症是KO的预测因素，而KO和内侧FCT降低是肌肉减少症的预测因素。这些发现表明，肌肉减少症可能通过与肌肉力量丧失相关的机械效应以及潜在的其他机制影响FCT，使其成为KO的潜在危险因素。
