Radiographic knee osteoarthritis (RKOA) may be correlated with higher cardiovascular disease (CVD), diabetes, and renal mortality compared to self-reported OA, according to findings published in the International Journal of Epidemiology.
Researchers included 51,938 adult participants from the 1988-94 and 1999-2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys and followed them through 2011 for mortality. Of the participants, 2,589 had knee X-rays. Prevalence of self-reported OA and RKOA was 6.6% and 40.6%, respectively. Self-reported OA was not associated with higher rates of mortality. The RKOA group had a greater risk of mortality from CVD (hazard ratio [HR], 1.43; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.32, 1.64), diabetes (HR, 2.04 [1.87, 2.23]), and renal diseases (HR, 1.14 [1.04, 1.25]). But RKOA patients also had a lower risk of death from cancer (HR, 0.88 [0.80, 0.96]). RKOA patients who were diagnosed before age 40 had a higher all-cause mortality rate (HR, 1.53 [1.43, 1.65]) and were significantly more likely to die from diabetes (HR, 7.18 [5.45, 945]). Obese RKOA patients were more likely to die from CVD (HR, 1.89 [1.56, 2.29]) and diabetes (HR, 3.42 [3.01, 3.88]).
The study authors concluded, “Self-reported OA was not associated with mortality. RKOA was associated with higher CVD, diabetes and renal mortality, especially in people with early onset of the disease or with obesity.”
Read about the link between knee OA and obesity here.
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