Effects of body mass index, infrapatellar fat pad volume and age on patellar cartilage defect

The aim of this study was to evaluate the associations between patellar cartilage defects and body mass index (BMI), infrapatellar fat pad (IPFP) volume and age. 100 patients who met the inclusion criteria and were aged 18 to 60, were evaluated retrospectively. For detecting and measuring patellar cartilage defects, axial sequences were used and sagittal sequences were used to evaluate IPFP volumes. In total, 40 patients had patellar cartilage defects. In this group, age and BMI were higher in both sexes when compared with the controls (p<0.05). The IPFP volume was lower in the group with the patellar cartilage defect when compared with the control group (p<0.05). The IPFP volume was statistically significantly lower in women (p<0.05). Patellar cartilage defect was found to be related to age and BMI. In women, the decrease in IPFP volume seems to be one of the causative factors for patellar cartilage defect.