Greater consumption of ultraprocessed foods may be associated with higher thigh muscle fat infiltration on magnetic resonance imaging among patients at risk of developing knee osteoarthritis, according to a cross-sectional analysis of Osteoarthritis Initiative data.
In the analysis, investigators included 615 patients without radiographic osteoarthritis or knee or hip pain at baseline. Ultraprocessed food (UPF) intake accounted for 41% of total dietary intake over the prior 12 months. UPF consumption was assessed using the NOVA classification system applied to a food frequency questionnaire, and muscle fat infiltration (MFI) was measured on thigh magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) using Goutallier grading across bilateral flexors, extensors, and adductors. Linear regression models adjusted for sociodemographic factors, daily caloric intake, physical activity, smoking, depression, and either body mass index (BMI) or abdominal circumference.
Higher UPF consumption was associated with greater MFI across all thigh muscles in BMI-adjusted models, as well as in bilateral flexors and adductors. The associations were stronger in abdominal circumference–adjusted models, with higher effect sizes for all muscles, flexors, extensors, and adductors. The findings indicated that for every 1–standard deviation increase in UPF intake, the sum Goutallier grade in all thigh muscles increased by 0.1 standard deviations.
No statistically significant differences were observed by sex. Sensitivity analyses showed consistent associations after adjustment for dietary fat, with stronger relationships in knees with doubtful radiographic knee osteoarthritis compared with those without such findings.
MRI assessments showed the highest fat infiltration in flexor muscles and the lowest in extensors. Further, patients with higher UPF intake had visibly greater intramuscular fat compared with those with lower intake despite similar age and body mass index.
Study limitations included the cross-sectional design, which didn't support causal inference; reliance on self-reported dietary data subject to recall bias; and use of semiquantitative grading rather than quantitative fat measurement. The cohort consisted of older patients at risk for knee osteoarthritis, which may have limited generalizability.
“[O]ur study provides valuable evidence linking [UPF] food consumption to poor muscle quality, characterized by higher fat content on thigh MRI scans, regardless of sex,” concluded lead study author Zehra Akkaya, MD, of the Department of Radiology in the Faculty of Medicine at Ankara University as well as the Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging at the University of California, San Francisco, and colleagues.
Full disclosures of the study authors can be found in the study.
Source: Radiology
