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Association of low dietary vitamin K intake with radiographic knee osteoarthritis in the Japanese elderly population: dietary survey in a population-based cohort of the ROAD study

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Journal of Orthopaedic Science

Abstract

Background

The present study sought to identify dietary nutrients associated with the prevalence of radiographic knee osteoarthritis (OA) in the Japanese elderly of a population-based cohort of the Research on Osteoarthritis Against Disability (ROAD) study.

Methods

From the baseline survey of the ROAD study, 719 participants ≥60 years of age (270 men, 449 women) of a rural cohort were analyzed. Dietary nutrient intakes for the previous 1 month were assessed by a self-administered brief diet history questionnaire. The radiographic severity at both knees was determined by the Kellgren/Lawrence (KL) system.

Results

The prevalence of knee OA of KL ≥2 was 70.8%. Age, body mass index, and female sex were positively associated with the prevalence. Among the dietary factors, only vitamin K intake was shown to be inversely associated with the prevalence of radiographic knee OA by multivariate logistic regression analysis. The presence of joint space narrowing of the knee was also inversely associated with vitamin K intake. The prevalence of radiographic knee OA for each dietary vitamin K intake quartile decreased with the increased intake.

Conclusions

The present cross-sectional study using a population-based cohort supports the hypothesis that low dietary vitamin K intake is a risk factor for knee OA. Vitamin K may have a protective role against knee OA and might lead to a disease-modifying treatment.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Joint Disease Research, 22nd Century Medical and Research Center, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8655, Japan

    Hiroyuki Oka & Noriko Yoshimura

  2. Department of Clinical Motor System Medicine, 22nd Century Medical and Research Center, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

    Toru Akune & Shigeyuki Muraki

  3. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Wakayama Medical University, Wakayama, Japan

    Yoshio En-Yo & Munehito Yoshida

  4. Saika Clinic, Wakayama, Japan

    Akihiro Saika

  5. Department of Social and Preventive Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

    Satoshi Sasaki

  6. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Sensory and Motor System Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

    Kozo Nakamura & Hiroshi Kawaguchi

Authors
  1. Hiroyuki Oka
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  2. Toru Akune
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  10. Noriko Yoshimura
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Oka, H., Akune, T., Muraki, S. et al. Association of low dietary vitamin K intake with radiographic knee osteoarthritis in the Japanese elderly population: dietary survey in a population-based cohort of the ROAD study. J Orthop Sci 14, 687–692 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00776-009-1395-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00776-009-1395-y

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