Background/Purpose:

There is evidence for a vascular contribution to the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis. The aim of this study was to examine the association between popliteal artery wall thickness, previously shown to be associated with risk of generalized osteoarthritis, and knee structural changes in an asymptomatic cohort.

Methods:

297 adults with no significant knee pain, injury, or history of clinical knee disease were recruited. Participants underwent knee magnetic resonance imaging at baseline and 2 years later. Popliteal artery wall thickness, knee cartilage volume and bone marrow lesions (BML) were assessed.

Results:

Of 278 participants with valid popliteal artery wall thickness measurement, 254 (91.4%) completed the follow-up. After adjusting for age, gender, body mass index and tibial bone area, increased popliteal artery wall thickness was associated with reduced medial tibial cartilage volume (B = -6.7, 95% CI -12.9, -0.6, p = 0.03) and increased rate of medial tibial cartilage volume loss (B = 0.06, 95% CI 0.01, 0.12, p = 0.03). There was a trend for medial tibiofemoral BML getting worse in relation to increased popliteal artery wall thickness (odds ratio 1.07, 95% CI 0.99, 1.15, p = 0.07). No significant associations were observed in lateral tibiofemoral compartment.

Conclusion:

Increased popliteal artery wall thickness was associated with adverse changes in knee structure, as evidenced by reduced medial tibial cartilage volume, increased rate of cartilage volume loss and a trend for BML worsening over 2 years. These findings suggest an association between vascular pathology and early knee structural changes, supporting the hypothesis that vascular health may play a role in the development of knee osteoarthritis.

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ACR Meeting Abstracts - https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/associations-between-popliteal-artery-wall-thickness-and-knee-structure-in-adults-without-clinical-knee-disease-a-prospective-cohort-study/