Whole grain consumption and risk of radiographic knee osteoarthritis: a prospective study from the Osteoarthritis Initiative

Abstract Objectives To assess the association of whole grain consumption with the risk of incident knee OA. Material and methods We followed 2846 participants in the Osteoarthritis Initiative ages 45–79 years. Participants were free from radiographic knee OA (Kellgren–Lawrence grade <2) in at least one knee at baseline. Dietary data from baseline were obtained using the Block Brief Food Frequency Questionnaire. We defined radiographic knee OA incidence as a Kellgren–Lawrence grade ≥2 during the subsequent 96 months. Cox proportional hazards models were used to assess the association between whole grain food intake and the risk of incident knee OA. Results During the 96 month follow-up, 518 participants (691 knees) developed incident radiographic knee OA. Higher total whole grain consumption was significantly associated with a lower knee OA risk [hazard ratio (HR)quartile 4vs1 = 0.66 (95% CI 0.52, 0.84), P for trend < 0.01] after adjusting for demographic and socio-economic factors, clinical factors and other dietary factors related to OA. Consistently, a significant inverse association of dark bread consumption with knee OA risk was observed [HRquartile 4vs1 = 0.68 (95% CI 0.53, 0.87), P for trend < 0.01). In addition, we observed a significant inverse association between higher cereal fibre intake and reduced knee OA risk [HRquartile 4vs1 = 0.61 (95% CI 0.46, 0.81), P for trend < 0.01). Conclusions Our findings revealed a significant inverse association of whole grain consumption with knee OA risk. These findings provide evidence that eating a diet rich in whole grains may be a potential nutritional strategy to prevent knee OA.