title: Association of cartilage degeneration with four year weight gain--3T MRI data from the Osteoarthritis Initiative.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the effect of weight gain on progression of early knee morphologic abnormalities using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in a longitudinal study over 48 months.
  
  
  METHODS
  We studied the right knee of 100 subjects from the Osteoarthritis Initiative (OAI), selecting subjects aged ≥ 45 with osteoarthritis (OA) risk factors who demonstrated weight gain (minimum 5% increase in body mass index, BMI, n = 50) or no change in weight (BMI change < 2%, n = 50), frequency matched for age, gender, and baseline BMI. Baseline and 48 month knee MRI studies were scored for lesions using a modified whole organ MRI score (WORMS). Logistic regression models were used to compare the differences between the two groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The odds of worsening maximum cartilage (11.3, 95%, CI 3.5-51.4) and meniscal WORMS (4.5, 95% CI 1.4-17.3) were significantly greater in the weight gain group compared to the no change group, in addition to the odds of worsening cartilage defects at the patella and average meniscal WORMS (P < 0.05). Odds of worsening average bone marrow edema pattern (BMEP) were significantly greater for the weight gain group compared to the no change cohort (P < 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our study demonstrated that weight gain is strongly associated with increased progression of cartilage degeneration in middle-aged individuals with risk factors for OA.
authors.affiliation: Musculoskeletal and Quantitative Imaging Group (MQIR), Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA. Electronic address: matthew.bucknor@ucsf.edu.
authors.forename: M D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Bucknor
authors.affiliation: Musculoskeletal and Quantitative Imaging Group (MQIR), Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Nardo
authors.affiliation: Musculoskeletal and Quantitative Imaging Group (MQIR), Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
authors.forename: G B
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Joseph
authors.affiliation: Musculoskeletal and Quantitative Imaging Group (MQIR), Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Alizai
authors.affiliation: Musculoskeletal and Quantitative Imaging Group (MQIR), Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Srikhum
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Nevitt
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Lynch
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
authors.forename: C E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: McCulloch
authors.affiliation: Musculoskeletal and Quantitative Imaging Group (MQIR), Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
authors.forename: T M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Link
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002357:Cartilage Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology*; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000473:pathology; D016015:Logistic Models; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology; D020370:Osteoarthritis, Knee / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D015430:Weight Gain / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: Cartilage degeneration; Osteoarthritis; Weight gain; Whole organ MRI score