Association of plasma n-6 and n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids with synovitis in the knee: the MOST study

Baker KR, Matthan NR, Lichtenstein AH, et al. · Osteoarthritis and Cartilage

Higher total n-3 and DHA levels were inversely associated with patellofemoral cartilage loss (top against bottom quartile OR 0.5, 95% CI 0.2-1.1, p-trend 0.05 for total n-3; OR 0.5, 95% CI 0.2-1.0, p-trend 0.04 for DHA); the n-6 arachidonic acid was positively associated with moderate-to-severe synovitis (OR 2.8, 95% CI 1.2-6.4, p-trend 0.01). No association with tibiofemoral cartilage loss, and no n-3 association with synovitis.

Population

472 adults with or at risk of knee OA (MOST cohort; mean age 60, mean BMI 30, half women), cross-sectional MRI analysis

Intervention

Fasting plasma phospholipid fatty acids (observational exposure)

Limitations

Cross-sectional and observational — cannot establish causation; one baseline blood sample, and blood fatty acids are an imperfect proxy for intake; partial-region findings could be chance. NIH-funded; no conflicts declared.