High Fiber Intake May Decrease Osteoarthritis Knee Pain Save

Dai, Felson and colleagues report in Annals of Rheumatic Disease that high dietary fiber lowers the risk of symptomatic osteoathritis (SxOA), but the radiographic benefits remain unclear. (Citation source http://buff.ly/2rHv9yd)

They analyzed longitudinal data from 2 studies 1) the Osteoarthritis Initiative (OAI; n =4796) and the Framingham Offspring Osteoarthritis Study (FOOS; n=1268) and assessed their dietary fiber intake in addition to whether the patient had SxOA or radiographic OA (ROA). 

In both OAI and FOOS cohorts, total dietary fiber was inversely associated with risk of SxOA (p trend <0.03) with significantly lower risk at the highest versus lowest quartile (OR (95% CI): 0.70 (0.52, 0.94) for OAI and 0.39 (0.17, 0.88) for Framingham).

Fiber intake was also \significantly inversely associated with knee pain worsening, but no apparent association was seen with with ROA and fiber intake.ROA was unclear.

The NY Times reports that that average fiber intake among U.S. adults is about 15 grams; which is below the 22.4 grams recommended for women and 28 grams per day recommended for for men.

It is postulated that high fiber intake may be beneficial by being "anti-inflammatory" or by promoting weight reduction or other lifestyle modifications that benefit the joints.