Body composition and knee cartilage properties in healthy, community-based adults

Abstract

Background: Although obesity is widely accepted as a risk factor for knee osteoarthritis, whether weight per se or the specific components of body composition are the major determinants of properties of articular knee cartilage is unclear. Objective: To examine associations between anthropometric and body composition measures and knee cartilage properties in healthy adults. Methods: 297 healthy adults with no clinical knee osteoarthritis were recruited from an existing community-based cohort. Anthropometric measures and body composition, including fat-free mass and fat mass assessed using bioelectrical impedance analysis, were measured at baseline (1990-4) and current follow-up (2003-4). Tib..