Sex-differences of the healthy infra-patellar (Hoffa) fat pad in relation to intermuscular and subcutaneous fat...

The infra-patellar fat pad (IPFP) is composed of intra-articular adipose tissue; it represents a potential source of pro-inflammatory cytokines and has been associated with osteoarthritis of the knee. Yet, to what extent the size of the IPFP differs between healthy men and women, and how sex differences compare to those in inter-muscular and subcutaneous fat tissue content is unknown. We studied healthy reference subjects from the Osteoarthritis Initiative, without knee pain, without radiographic signs or without risk factors of femorotibial osteoarthritis. Sagittal magnetic resonance images (MRIs) of 99 right knees were used to segment the IPFP; in a subset, axial images of the thigh were available to segment inter-muscular and subcutaneous fat. Healthy men (n=40) displayed a 41% greater (p<0.001) IPFP volume and a 9% greater (p<0.01) ratio of IPFP volume/body weight than women (n=59). Men (n=13) displayed 15% greater intermuscular fat content (not significant), and a 50% lesser (p<0.01) subcutaneous fat content than women (n=12); when related to total thigh cross-sectional areas, these sex differences were +2% (not significant) and -53% (p<0.001). This is the first study to explore quantitative measures of the IPFP in healthy men and women, and to relate these to sex differences of inter-muscular and subcutaneous fat tissue content. Men displayed a significantly greater ratio of IPFP volume/body weight than women, similar amounts of inter-muscular fat, and strikingly less subcutaneous fat. These data provide a basis for further systematic studies of the variability of the IPFP with the body mass index and its role in knee osteoarthritis.