Association of diabetes mellitus and biochemical knee cartilage composition assessed by T 2 relaxation time measurements: Data from the osteoarthritis initiative

• Published in: Journal of magnetic resonance imaging Vol. 47; no. 2; pp. 380 - 390
• Main Authors: Chanchek, Nattagan, Gersing, Alexandra S., Schwaiger, Benedikt J., Nevitt, Michael C., Neumann, Jan, Joseph, Gabby B., Lane, Nancy E., Zarnowski, Julia, Hofmann, Felix C., Heilmeier, Ursula, McCulloch, Charles E., Link, Thomas M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01.02.2018
• Subjects: Cartilage Diseases - complications; Cartilage Diseases - diagnostic imaging; Cartilage Diseases - pathology; Cartilage, Articular - diagnostic imaging; Cartilage, Articular - pathology; Cohort Studies; Diabetes Complications - diagnostic imaging; Diabetes Complications - pathology; Female; Humans; Knee Joint - diagnostic imaging; Knee Joint - pathology; Longitudinal Studies; Magnetic Resonance Imaging - methods; Male; Middle Aged; Osteoarthritis, Knee - complications; Osteoarthritis, Knee - diagnostic imaging; Osteoarthritis, Knee - pathology; Risk Factors; Severity of Illness Index; Time; magnetic resonance imaging; cartilage imaging; diabetes; knee osteoarthritis
• ISSN: 1053-1807; 1522-2586
• DOI: 10.1002/jmri.25766

To investigate the association of the presence and severity of diabetes mellitus (DM) with articular cartilage composition, using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based T relaxation time measurements, and structural knee abnormalities. In the Osteoarthritis Initiative 208, participants with DM (age 63.0 ± 8.9 years; 111 females) and risk factors for osteoarthritis (OA) or mild radiographic tibiofemoral OA (Kellgren-Lawrence [KL] grade ≤2) were identified and group-matched with 208 controls without DM (age 63.3 ± 9.1 years; 111 females). Subjects with diabetes-related renal or ophthalmological complications or insulin treatment at baseline (n = 50) were defined as severe DM. 3T MR images of the right knee were assessed for articular cartilage T , including texture and laminar analyses derived from the patella, medial, and lateral femur and tibia and for structural abnormalities using the modified whole-organ magnetic resonance imaging score (WORMS). Clustered linear regression analyses were used to assess associations of DM with MRI findings. DM subjects had significantly higher cartilage T in the patella (mean difference 0.92 msec [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.79, 1.06]; P = 0.001) and medial femur (mean difference 0.36 msec [95% CI 0.27, 0.81]; P = 0.006) compared to controls. Averaged over all compartments, DM subjects showed significantly higher texture parameters (variance, P = 0.001; contrast, P = 0.002; entropy, P < 0.001). Subjects with severe DM additionally showed higher T in the medial tibial deep and superficial layers (P = 0.011 and P = 0.041) compared to controls. No significant differences in cartilage, meniscus, and overall WORMS were found between the groups (P > 0.05). In comparison to nondiabetic controls, cartilage in DM subjects showed higher and more heterogeneous cartilage T values, indicating increased articular cartilage degeneration. This affected even more compartments in subjects with severe DM. 2 Technical Efficacy: 5 J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2018;47:380-390.