Association of atherosclerosis with presence and progression of osteoarthritis: the Rotterdam Study

Abstract

This study showed independent associations of atherosclerosis with osteoarthritis of the knee and hand joints in women. The evidence was most solid for a relation with DIP osteoarthritis. More research is needed to confirm the associations and examine the differential association with various joints.

Association between popliteal artery wall thickness and knee cartilage volume loss in community-based middle-aged women without clinical knee disease

“…Previous studies have reported associations between vascular pathology and the risk of OA [4][5][6], with vascular pathology assessed by different markers including artery vessel wall thickness [4][5][6], carotid plaque [4,5], coronary and aortic calcifications [5]. Only one prospective cohort study examined the association between vascular pathology and the risk of knee OA [4].…”

“…Only one prospective cohort study examined the association between vascular pathology and the risk of knee OA [4]. It was found in the Rotterdam Study that greater carotid intima media thickness was associated with increased prevalence of radiographic knee OA in women only, with no association seen for the progression of knee OA [4].…”

“…There is increasing evidence suggesting a role of vascular pathology in the pathogenesis of OA [2][3][4][5][6], although no consistent evidence for a solid relationship is observed for knee OA. The Rotterdam Study found that in women greater carotid intima media thickness was associated with increased prevalence of knee OA and progression of hand OA, and that the presence of carotid plaque was associated with increased prevalence of hand OA [4]. The AGES Reykjavik Study reported a linear association between the severity of hand OA and atherosclerosis assessed by carotid plaque and coronary calcification in older women [5].…”

Gene expression profiling of articular cartilage reveals functional pathways and networks of candidate genes for osteochondrosis in pigs

“…ANGPTL4 encodes a secreted protein of the angiopoietin family involved in angiogenesis (18). ANGPTL4 transcript localizes to stromal fibroblast-like cells adjacent to blood vessels in the mouse arthritic tissue (14). ICAM1 is expressed by many cell types, including fibroblasts, endothelial cells, some leukocytes, and also on the surface of osteoblasts (62).…”

“…GWAS, genome-wide association study. inflammatory pathophysiology (14). Several DE genes in both angiogenesis and atherosclerosis likely affect expression of genes contributing to OC, such as metalloproteinase 3 (MMP3) and platelet-derived growth factor alpha polypeptide (PDGFA).…”