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Relationship Between Magnetic Resonance Imaging-based Knee Cartilage Loss and Work-related Physical Workload in
Hansoo Song1, Yong Soo Cho2, Hye-Min Kim1
1Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Chosun University Hospital, Gwangju, Republic of Korea.
Background:
This study examined the relationship between work-related physical workload and knee cartilage loss using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) among farmers and fishers in the Republic of Korea.
Methods:
Bilateral knee MRI and questionnaire data from 545 farmers and 204 fishers aged 40-79 years were analyzed. Cartilage damage was evaluated using the MRI Osteoarthritis Knee Score (MOAKS). Mean cartilage loss scores were compared by sex, age, and body mass index (BMI). Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to assess associations of cumulative squatting work time (CSWT, hours) and cumulative lifting work time (CLWT, hours) with cartilage loss, adjusting for age and BMI, and stratified by sex.
Results:
Age was the most significant factor associated with cartilage loss, whereas BMI was not. In women, CSWT was significantly associated with medial cartilage loss in the tibiofemoral (TF) joint after adjusting for age and BMI (right: p = 0.036; left: p = 0.021). The CLWT was significantly associated with cartilage loss in the right patellofemoral joint (right: p = 0.005; left: p = 0.051). In men, CLWT showed a significant association only in the right medial TF joint (p = 0.046).
Conclusion:
Among Korean farmers and fishers, cumulative squatting and lifting workloads were associated with knee cartilage damage in a compartment- and sex-specific manner.
