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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Nutr.
Sec. Nutritional Epidemiology
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnut.2025.1533966
Body Roundness Index and the Risk of Knee Osteoarthritis: Evidence from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study
Provisionally accepted- 1 Guizhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guiyang, China
- 2 The Second Affiliated Hospital, Guizhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guiyang, Guizhou Province, China
Objective Previous cross-sectional studies have demonstrated that the body roundness index (BRI) is associated with knee osteoarthritis (KOA). However, no longitudinal studies have confirmed this association. This study aims to explore the link between BRI and KOA risk in the Chinese population through longitudinal analysis and to evaluate its utility in early diagnosis and risk prediction. Methods This study utilizes data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS). A total of 7,318 participants who were followed from 2015 to 2020 were included. BRI was calculated using physical examinations and questionnaire data, and participants were categorized by quartiles. The relationship between BRI and KOA risk was assessed using multivariate weighted regression models and trend tests, while subgroup and sensitivity analyses were conducted to ensure the robustness of the findings. Results After 5 years of follow-up, 1,035 participants (14.14%) were diagnosed with KOA. Findings indicate a positive correlation between BRI and KOA risk (HR = 1.08, 95% CI: 1.02 - 1.13, p = 0.0039), with an increasing trend in KOA risk across BRI quartiles (p for trend = 0.0033). Subgroup analysis reveals that the association is particularly strong among individuals aged 50-59, males, those living in rural areas, and those without cardiovascular disease.Conclusion This study establishes that an increase in BRI significantly elevates KOA risk. These findings suggest that BRI could be an effective tool for KOA risk assessment and could contribute to the development of personalized prevention strategies. Additionally, BRI is valuable in elucidating the potential mechanisms linking body fat distribution and inflammatory responses in KOA progression.
Keywords: knee osteoarthritis, Body roundness index, China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, longitudinal study, risk
Received: 25 Nov 2024; Accepted: 24 Feb 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Jiang, Xin, Yao, Lan, Yao, Tang and Ma. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Zong Jiang, Guizhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guiyang, China
Fang Tang, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Guizhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guiyang, Guizhou Province, China
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