Objective There is increasing evidence for the involvement of vascular disease in the pathogenesis of knee osteoarthritis. Popliteal artery wall thickness can be used as a surrogate marker of atherosclerosis. We examined the association between popliteal artery wall thickness and knee cartilage volume in individuals with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis. Methods This prospective cohort study analysed 176 participants from a randomised placebo-controlled trial examining the effect of atorvastatin on structural progression in knee osteoarthritis. The participants underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the study knee at baseline and two-year follow-up. Popliteal artery wall thickness and tibial cartilage volume were measured from MRI using validated methods. The top quartile of the rate of tibial cartilage volume loss was defined as rapid progression. Results At baseline, every 10% increase in popliteal artery wall thickness was associated with 120.8 mm3 (95% CI 5.4–236.2, p= 0.04) lower of medial tibial cartilage volume and 151.9 mm3 (95% CI 12.1–291.7, p= 0.03) lower of lateral tibial cartilage volume. Longitudinally, for every 10% increase in popliteal artery wall thickness, the annual rate of medial tibial cartilage volume loss was increased by 1.14% (95% CI 0.09%-2.20%, p= 0.03) and there was a 2.28-fold (95% CI 1.07–4.83, p= 0.03) risk of rapid progression of medial tibial cartilage loss, adjusted for age, sex, body mass index, tibial bone area, smoking, vigorous physical activity, and intervention group allocation. Conclusion The findings support a role for vascular pathology in the progression of knee osteoarthritis. Targeting atherosclerosis has the potential to improve outcomes in knee osteoarthritis.

中文翻译：

---

症状性膝骨关节炎患者腘动脉壁厚度与结构进展的相关性

目的越来越多的证据表明血管疾病参与膝骨关节炎的发病机制。腘动脉壁厚可作为动脉粥样硬化的替代指标。我们检查了有症状的膝骨关节炎患者腘动脉壁厚与膝关节软骨体积之间的关系。方法 这项前瞻性队列研究分析了来自一项随机安慰剂对照试验的 176 名参与者，该试验检验了阿托伐他汀对膝骨关节炎结构进展的影响。参与者在基线和两年随访时接受了研究膝关节的磁共振成像 (MRI)。使用经过验证的方法从 MRI 测量腘动脉壁厚度和胫骨软骨体积。胫骨软骨体积损失率的前四分位数被定义为快速进展。结果 在基线时，腘动脉壁厚度每增加 10% 与胫骨内侧软骨体积减少 120.8 mm3 (95% CI 5.4–236.2, p= 0.04) 和 151.9 mm3 (95% CI 12.1–291.7, p= 0.03) 相关) 外侧胫骨软骨体积较低。纵向上，腘动脉壁厚度每增加 10%，胫骨内侧软骨体积损失的年率增加 1.14% (95% CI 0.09%-2.20%, p= 0.03)，并且有 2.28 倍 (95 % CI 1.07–4.83，p= 0.03）内侧胫骨软骨丢失快速进展的风险，根据年龄、性别、体重指数、胫骨面积、吸烟、剧烈运动和干预组分配进行调整。结论 这些发现支持血管病理学在膝骨关节炎进展中的作用。针对动脉粥样硬化有可能改善膝骨关节炎的预后。