The Relationship Between Knee Osteoarthritis and Osteoporosis

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the association between knee osteoarthritis (OA) and bone mineral density (BMD) in the femur and lumbar vertebrae. Materials and Methods: A total of 74 female patients (mean age 61.9 +/- 9.1 years, mean body mass index 27.09 +/- 4.24) diagnosed with knee OA were included in this study. To assess knee OA, bilateral weight-bearing antero-posterior knee radiographs were taken and graded from 0 to 4 according to Kellgren-Lawrence criteria. The BMD of the subjects was measured using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). BMD measurements of those with OA were compared with those without OA. Results: While there was no correlation between BMD and the grade of knee OA, a significant negative correlation was found between age and femur BMD. Body mass index was positively correlated with OA and negatively correlated with OP. Conclusion: Further investigations are needed to demonstrate the association between knee OA and BMD.