Cardiovascular Comorbidities in Knee Osteoarthritis: Prevalence, Functional association, and Therapeutic Consequences.
Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is a common chronic degenerative joint disease and a leading cause of pain, disability, and impaired quality of life. Cardiovascular comorbidities (CVCs), particularly hypertension, dyslipidemia, and diabetes, frequently coexist with KOA and may influence both disease burden and treatment options, especially the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). This study aimed to determine the prevalence of CVCs in patients with KOA and evaluate their association with pain, functional impairment, and therapeutic management.
We conducted a cross-sectional study including consecutive patients with radiographically confirmed KOA attending the Rheumatology A outpatient clinic at El Ayachi Hospital, Rabat-Salé, Morocco. Adults with inflammatory arthritis, previous major knee surgery, or post-traumatic osteoarthritis were excluded. Data collected included age, sex, disease duration, pain assessed by the visual analog scale (VAS), functional disability measured by the Lequesne index, cardiovascular comorbidities (hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes, coronary or vascular disease), and current treatments. Patients were divided into two groups according to the presence or absence of at least one cardiovascular comorbidity. Comparisons were performed using the chi-square test or Student's t-test, with p < 0.05 considered statistically significant.
A total of 158 patients were included (mean age 62.3 ± 10.5 years; 125 (79.1%) women), with a median disease duration of seven years (IQR 4-12). Overall, 98 (62.0%) had at least one cardiovascular comorbidity. Hypertension was the most frequent (n=85; 53.8%), followed by diabetes mellitus (n=46; 29.1%) and dyslipidemia (n=41; 25.9%). Patients with CVCs had higher pain scores than those without (VAS: 6.8 ± 1.7 vs. 6.0 ± 1.8; p = 0.01). In contrast, they had significantly greater functional impairment (Lequesne index: 12.4 ± 4.2 vs. 10.3 ± 4.6; p = 0.004). Systemic NSAID use was significantly lower in patients with CVCs (31/98 (31.6%) vs. 33/60 (55.0%); p = 0.01), whereas no significant differences were observed for intra-articular corticosteroid injections or viscosupplementation.
Cardiovascular comorbidities are highly prevalent in patients with KOA and are associated with greater functional disability and reduced use of systemic NSAIDs. These findings emphasize the need for routine cardiovascular risk assessment and individualized therapeutic strategies to optimize the management of patients with knee osteoarthritis.
We conducted a cross-sectional study including consecutive patients with radiographically confirmed KOA attending the Rheumatology A outpatient clinic at El Ayachi Hospital, Rabat-Salé, Morocco. Adults with inflammatory arthritis, previous major knee surgery, or post-traumatic osteoarthritis were excluded. Data collected included age, sex, disease duration, pain assessed by the visual analog scale (VAS), functional disability measured by the Lequesne index, cardiovascular comorbidities (hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes, coronary or vascular disease), and current treatments. Patients were divided into two groups according to the presence or absence of at least one cardiovascular comorbidity. Comparisons were performed using the chi-square test or Student's t-test, with p < 0.05 considered statistically significant.
A total of 158 patients were included (mean age 62.3 ± 10.5 years; 125 (79.1%) women), with a median disease duration of seven years (IQR 4-12). Overall, 98 (62.0%) had at least one cardiovascular comorbidity. Hypertension was the most frequent (n=85; 53.8%), followed by diabetes mellitus (n=46; 29.1%) and dyslipidemia (n=41; 25.9%). Patients with CVCs had higher pain scores than those without (VAS: 6.8 ± 1.7 vs. 6.0 ± 1.8; p = 0.01). In contrast, they had significantly greater functional impairment (Lequesne index: 12.4 ± 4.2 vs. 10.3 ± 4.6; p = 0.004). Systemic NSAID use was significantly lower in patients with CVCs (31/98 (31.6%) vs. 33/60 (55.0%); p = 0.01), whereas no significant differences were observed for intra-articular corticosteroid injections or viscosupplementation.
Cardiovascular comorbidities are highly prevalent in patients with KOA and are associated with greater functional disability and reduced use of systemic NSAIDs. These findings emphasize the need for routine cardiovascular risk assessment and individualized therapeutic strategies to optimize the management of patients with knee osteoarthritis.
Authors
Alaoui Kadiri Alaoui Kadiri, El Binoune El Binoune, Amine Amine, Kabbaj Kabbaj, Ghoullam Ghoullam, Zemrani Zemrani, Rostom Rostom, Bahiri Bahiri
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