Investigating the association between osteoarthritis and cardiovascular disease using a standardized cardiovascular health assessment tool in a nationwide health survey

Osteoarthritis (OA) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) are thought to be interrelated, but the nature of their connection remains unclear. We examined the association between OA and cardiovascular health (CVH) using Life’s Essential 8 (LE8), a standardized CVH assessment tool. We conducted a population-based cross-sectional analysis of data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey collected between 2014 and 2021, comprising 35,001 adults aged 19 years or older. LE8 scores were compared by OA status, which was determined from self-reported physician diagnosis, and logistic regression analysis was used to estimate the odds of OA across CVH grades. In this cross-sectional analysis, higher CVH was associated with lower odds of OA. After adjustment for age, sex, and socioeconomic status, individuals with moderate or high CVH had approximately 19% and 40% lower odds of OA than those with low CVH (OR 0.81, 95% CI 0.73–0.91; OR 0.60, 95% CI 0.48–0.74; P < 0.001). The difference was primarily observed in the health factors domain, particularly body mass index (BMI) and blood pressure, whereas the health behaviors domain showed no consistent association after adjustment. Overall, poorer CVH was associated with a higher likelihood of coexisting OA, with differences most evident in BMI and blood pressure.