Association of dynapenic abdominal obesity with prevalence and incidence of symptomatic knee osteoarthritis among the middle-aged and older Chinese.

BACKGROUND

Dynapenic abdominal obesity contributes to multiple detrimental health consequences, but its association with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis (KOA) remains undefined. This research sought to determine its cross-sectional and longitudinal relationships with the prevalence and incidence of KOA in middle-aged and elderly Chinese.

METHODS

Cross-sectional analysis comprised 12,872 participants from the 2011 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS). The longitudinal analysis utilized a cohort of 11,098 participants without KOA in 2011 as the baseline cohort, with subsequent follow-up conducted until 2018. On the basis of the presence of dynapenia (handgrip strength < 26 kg for men, < 16 kg for women) and abdominal obesity (waist circumference ≥ 90 cm for men, ≥ 85 cm for women), participants were categorized into four distinct groups. To examine cross-sectional and longitudinal associations, we employed Logistic regression models and Cox proportional hazards models, respectively.

RESULTS

In the fully adjusted cross-sectional analysis, all three dynapenic abdominal obesity groups exhibited significantly elevated odds of symptomatic KOA compared to the ND/NAO reference group: ND/AO (OR = 1.158, 95% CI: 1.031-1.301), D/NAO (OR = 1.957, 95% CI: 1.590-2.408), and D/AO (OR = 1.438, 95% CI: 1.068-1.934). In the longitudinal cohort (n = 11,098), 2,305 new cases of KOA (21.3%) were found during follow-up. In the same way, all three groups were linked to a higher rate of symptomatic KOA: ND/AO (HR = 1.155, 95% CI: 1.059-1.260), D/NAO (HR = 1.434, 95% CI: 1.167-1.761), and D/AO (HR = 1.369, 95% CI: 1.050-1.785).

CONCLUSION

Our findings indicated that dynapenic abdominal obesity emerges as a potentially important risk indicator for symptomatic KOA in the Chinese middle-aged and elderly cohort.