Ultra-processed food consumption, genetic susceptibility, and the risk of hip/knee osteoarthritis

Yingliang Wei; Tingjing Zhang; Yashu Liu; Huiyuan Liu; Yuhan Zhou; Jianbang Su; Liangkai Chen; Lunhao Bai; Yang Xia

doi:10.1016/j.clnu.2024.04.030

Ultra-processed food consumption, genetic susceptibility, and the risk of hip/knee osteoarthritis

Clin Nutr. 2024 Apr 22;43(6):1363-1371. doi: 10.1016/j.clnu.2024.04.030. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Yingliang Wei¹, Tingjing Zhang², Yashu Liu³, Huiyuan Liu³, Yuhan Zhou³, Jianbang Su¹, Liangkai Chen⁴, Lunhao Bai⁵, Yang Xia⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Orthopaedics, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China.
² School of Public Health, Wannan Medical College, Wuhu, China.
³ Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China; Liaoning Key Laboratory of Precision Medical Research on Major Chronic Disease, Shenyang, China.
⁴ Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, Hubei Key Laboratory of Food Nutrition and Safety, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China. Electronic address: clk@hust.edu.cn.
⁵ Department of Orthopaedics, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China. Electronic address: cmubailh@163.com.
⁶ Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China; Liaoning Key Laboratory of Precision Medical Research on Major Chronic Disease, Shenyang, China. Electronic address: xytmu507@126.com.

PMID: 38678821
DOI: 10.1016/j.clnu.2024.04.030

Abstract

Background: The associations between ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption, genetic susceptibility, and the risk of osteoarthritis (OA) remain unknown. This study was to examine the effect of UPF consumption, genetic susceptibility, and their interactions on hip/knee OA.

Methods: Cohort analyses included 163,987 participants from the UK Biobank. Participants' UPF consumption was derived from their 24-h dietary recall using a questionnaire. Genetic risk scores (GRSs) of 70 and 83 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for hip and knee OA were constructed.

Findings: After 1,461,447 person-years of follow-up, 11,540 patients developed OA. After adjustments, compared to participants in the low quartile of UPF consumption, those in the high quartile had a 10 % (hazard ratio [HR], 1.10; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.03-1.18) increased risk of knee OA. No significant association was found between UPF consumption and hip OA. Replacing 20% of UPF diet weight with an equivalent proportion of unprocessed or minimally processed food caused a 6% (HR, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.89-0.98) decreased risk of knee OA, respectively. A significant interaction was found between UPF consumption, genetic predisposition, and the risk of knee OA (P = 0.01). Participants with lower OA-GRS scores experienced higher knee OA risks due to UPF consumption.

Interpretation: UPF consumption was associated with a higher risk of knee OA but not hip OA, particularly in those with lower genetic susceptibility. These results highlight the importance of reducing UPF consumption to prevent knee OA.

Keywords: Cohort; Genetic risk score; Osteoarthritis; Risk factor; Ultra-processed food.