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Relationships between fatty infiltration in the thigh and calf in women with knee osteoarthritis

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Abstract

Background

In individuals with knee osteoarthritis (OA), fatty infiltration into thigh muscle is associated with poor physical performance and strength. However, it is not known whether this also occurs in the calf and if this impacts physical function.

Aims

We investigated the relationships between volumes of intramuscular fat (intraMF), intermuscular fat (IMF), subcutaneous fat (SCF), lean muscle and muscle adiposity, in the thighs compared to the calves of women with knee OA.

Methods

MRI scans of the thigh and calf were acquired from 20 women over 55 years with knee OA (3.0T Discovery MR750, GE Healthcare). Axial IDEAL (iterative decomposition of water and fat with echo asymmetry and least-squares estimation) fat-separated images were segmented to quantify intraMF, IMF, SCF and lean muscle volumes (SliceOmatic 5.0, Tomovision). Correlation and linear regression analyses were run.

Results

We found a positive relationship between thigh and calf intraMF (R 2 = 0.592; B = 5.49; p = 0.001), muscle adiposity (R 2 = 0.539; B = 0.567; p = 0.001), and SCF volume (R 2 = 0.699; B = 12.847; p = 0.001), controlling for waist-to-hip ratio. Relationships between thigh and calf IMF (R 2 = 0.239; B = 7.743; p = 0.061), lean muscle (R 2 = 0.245; B = 4.149; p = 0.047) and combined intraMF and IMF volume (R 2 = 0.242; B = 6.162; p = 0.044) were not significant.

Discussion

Although a correlation exists between thigh and calf muscle adiposity, intraMF and SCF, this does not hold true for IMF or lean muscle. A greater amount of intraMF infiltration occurs in the thigh compared to the calf of women with knee OA.

Conclusion

The calf and thigh may both be involved in pathologic changes in muscle composition in knee OA.

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Acknowledgments

Michael J. Davison’s Master of Science education research was supported by McMaster University Department of Medicine’s Graduate Research Initiative, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada (MRM) and the Canadian Foundation for Innovation and the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation (MRM).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine, McMaster University, 25 Charlton Ave. E., Suite 501, Hamilton, ON, L8N 1Y2, Canada

    Michael J. Davison, Jonathan D. Adachi & Karen A. Beattie

  2. School of Rehabilitation Science, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada

    Monica R. Maly

  3. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, McMaster School of Biomedical Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada

    Michael D. Noseworthy

Authors
  1. Michael J. Davison
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  2. Monica R. Maly
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  3. Jonathan D. Adachi
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  4. Michael D. Noseworthy
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  5. Karen A. Beattie
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Correspondence to Karen A. Beattie.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in this study involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the Hamilton Integrated Research Ethics Board and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Davison, M.J., Maly, M.R., Adachi, J.D. et al. Relationships between fatty infiltration in the thigh and calf in women with knee osteoarthritis. Aging Clin Exp Res 29, 291–299 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-016-0556-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-016-0556-z

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