The Relationship Between Primary Knee Osteoarthritis and Aortic Stiffness, Distensibility, and Valve Calcifications: A Case-Control Study.

Objective: The purpose of our study was to evaluate aortic stiffness and distensibility changes and the presence of aortic and mitral valve calcifications in patients with primary knee osteoarthritis (OA), using 2-dimensional and Doppler transthoracic echocardiography.

Methods: This case-control study included 115 participants with OA and a control group between May 2019 and November 2019. The Kellgren-Lawrence classification was used for the diagnosis and classification of knee OA, based on radiological images. We compared the demographic data, 2-dimensional and Doppler transthoracic echocardiography results, and laboratory findings between the OA patient group and the control group.

Results: There was a significant difference between aortic strain, aortic distensibility, aortic stiffness, and C-reactive protein values between the OA patient group and the control group (p < 0.001 for all). Post hoc analyses revealed that aortic strain and aortic distensibility values were significantly lower, and aortic stiffness values were significantly higher in the grade 4 OA group than those of other groups (p < 0.05 for all). In addition, the C-reactive protein values of the grades 3 and 4 patients were significantly higher than those of other groups (p < 0.05 for all). No significant difference was observed between the groups in terms of aortic and mitral valve calcifications (p > 0.05 for all).

Conclusion: Aortic strain and distensibility values were lower in the advanced grades of primary knee OA, whereas aortic stiffness values and the frequency of valve calcifications were higher.