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Gardening/yardwork in people with knee osteoarthritis is not associated with symptom or structural progression over 48 months: data from the Osteoarthritis Initiative

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Abstract

Objective

To evaluate the relationship of gardening/yardwork with symptomatic and structural progression in those with pre-existing radiographic knee osteoarthritis (OA) in the Osteoarthritis Initiative (OAI), an observational study designed to evaluate potential and known biomarkers and risk factors of knee OA.

Methods

We conducted a cohort study nested within the OAI, including participants ≥ 50 years old with radiographic OA in at least one knee at the time of OAI enrollment. A participant reported the level of gardening/yardwork activity in a self-administered survey. Logistic regression analyses were used to evaluate the association of gardening/yardwork on new frequent knee pain, Kellgren-Lawrence (KL) worsening, medial joint space narrowing (JSN) worsening, and improved frequent knee pain.

Results

Of 1808 knees (1203 participants), over 60% of knees had KL grade = 2, 65% had medial JSN, and slightly more than a third had frequent knee symptoms. Gardeners/yardworkers and non-gardners/yardworkers had similar “worsening” outcomes for new knee pain (29% vs. 29%), KL worsening (19% vs. 18%), and medial JSN (23% vs. 24%). The adjusted odds ratio (OR) for the “worsening” outcomes of new knee pain, KL worsening, and medial JSN worsening were 1.0 (0.7–1.3), 1.0 (0.8–1.3), and 1.1 (0.9–1.4), respectively. The gardeners/yardworkers had an adjusted OR of 1.2 (0.9–1.7) for improved knee pain compared with non-gardners/yardworkers.

Conclusion

Gardening/yardwork is not associated with knee OA progression and should not be discouraged in those with knee OA.

Key Points

• Gardening/yardwork is not associated with knee OA symptomatic or structural progression.

• Gardening/yardwork should not be discouraged in people with knee OA.

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Data availability

All data from this study are publicly available and can be accessed through the OAI website (https://nda.nih.gov/oai/).

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by K23 AR062127, a National Institutes of Health/ National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases funded mentored award, providing support for the design and conduct of the study, analysis, interpretation of the data, and preparation and review of this work to [GHL]. This work was supported in part with resources at the VA’s Health Services Research and Development Service Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness, and Safety (#CIN 13-413) at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center, Houston, TX to [GHL]. This research was supported in part by generous donations to the Tupper Research Fund at Tufts Medical Center. The Osteoarthritis Initiative is a public-private partnership comprised of five contracts (N01-AR-2-2258; N01-AR-2-2259; N01-AR-2-2260; N01-AR-2-2261; N01-AR-2-2262) funded by the National Institutes of Health, a branch of the Department of Health and Human Services, and conducted by the Osteoarthritis Initiative Study Investigators. Private funding partners include Merck Research Laboratories; Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, GlaxoSmithKline; and Pfizer, Inc. Private sector funding for the Osteoarthritis Initiative is managed by the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, the National Institutes of Health, or the Department of Veterans Affairs. We also confirm the independence of researchers from funders and that all authors, external and internal, had full access to all of the data (including statistical reports and tables) in the study and can take responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis is also required. The sponsors had no role in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; and in the decision to submit the article for publication. Portions of this paper have been presented at the 2022 Osteoarthritis Research Society International's World Congress on Osteoarthritis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, 1 Baylor Plaza, BCM-285, Houston, TX, USA

    Grace H. Lo

  2. Medical Care Line and Research Care Line, Michael E. DeBakey Medical Center, Houston VA HSR&D Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness and Safety, Houston, TX, USA

    Grace H. Lo

  3. Division of Rheumatology, Allergy, & Immunology, Tufts Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA

    Julieann C. Patarini, Michael J. Richard & Timothy E. McAlindon

  4. Department of Epidemiology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Andrea M. Kriska & Bonny Rockette-Wagner

  5. Department of Family Medicine, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, USA

    Charles B. Eaton

  6. Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health of Brown University, Providence, RI, USA

    Charles B. Eaton

  7. Department of Medicine and Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Marc C. Hochberg

  8. University of Arizona Arthritis Center, University of Arizona College of Medicine, Tucson, AZ, USA

    C. Kent Kwoh

  9. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Michael C. Nevitt

  10. Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA

    Jeffrey B. Driban

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  1. Grace H. Lo
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Grace H. Lo.

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Competing interests

Jeffrey B. Driban declares that he is a consultant for Pfizer Inc. and Eli Lilly and Company. Timothy E. McAlindon declares that he is a consultant for Remedium-Bio, Anika, Chemocentryx, Grunenthal, Kolon Tissue Gene, Novartis, BioSplice, MEDIPOST, Organogenesis, and Pfizer Inc. The other authors state they have no conflict of interest with regard to this work.

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Lo, G.H., Patarini, J.C., Richard, M.J. et al. Gardening/yardwork in people with knee osteoarthritis is not associated with symptom or structural progression over 48 months: data from the Osteoarthritis Initiative. Clin Rheumatol 43, 1755–1762 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10067-024-06912-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10067-024-06912-9

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