Beyond cardiovascular disease: remnant cholesterol as a novel risk factor for osteoarthritis

In this large prospective cohort of middle-aged and older adults, RC showed a positive, dose-response association with incident osteoarthritis that attenuated to near-null after adjustment for BMI. Mediation analysis indicated that approximately 84% of the total association operated via BMI, supporting adiposity as the principal pathway and suggesting limited BMI-independent effect of RC. These findings highlight RC as a potentially modifiable metabolic biomarker and underscore the interplay of dyslipidemia and obesity in OA pathogenesis, suggesting that RC management combined with weight control may offer an effective strategy for OA prevention.