Relationship Between Sarcopenia, Femoral Cartilage Thickness, and Knee Osteoarthritis: Case-Control Study

This study aims to evaluate the association between femoral cartilage thickness (FCT) and knee osteoarthritis (KO) in individuals with sarcopenia and pre-sarcopenia, highlighting the potential role of FCT in the relationship between sarcopenia and KO.

A cross-sectional study including 80 individuals (23 pre-sarcopenia, 21 sarcopenia, and 36 healthy controls) aged 40-75 years was conducted. Using ultrasound (US), FCT was measured, and KO prevalence was compared among the three groups. Logistic regression analyses were performed to determine the predictors of KO and sarcopenia, and ROC analysis was conducted to estimate sarcopenia from FCT measurements.

The mean age of the 80 participants (55 females, 25 males) was 62.22 ± 7.56 years. The sarcopenia group had significantly lower medial and lateral FCT than the control group (all p < 0.01). Logistic regression analysis indicated that age and sarcopenia were significant predictors of KO (all p < 0.01). Multinomial logistic regression showed that KO and medial FCT were significant predictors of sarcopenia (all p < 0.05). ROC analysis demonstrated that medial FCT effectively predicted sarcopenia (p = 0.001, AUC = 0.736).

The results of this study showed that FCT was reduced, and KO prevalence was increased in sarcopenia patients. Additionally, age and sarcopenia were predictors for KO, while KO and decreased medial FCT were predictors of sarcopenia. These findings suggest that sarcopenia may influence FCT through mechanical effects related to muscle strength loss and potentially other mechanisms, making it a potential risk factor for KO.