In this cross-sectional study of 1538 Shougang iron workers, higher diet quality (GDR score) was inversely associated with co-occurrence of arteriosclerosis and knee osteoarthritis among women but not among men, providing preliminary, exploratory evidence that requires confirmation in larger prospective studies.
A large share of the iron workers had co-occurring arteriosclerosis (AS) and knee osteoarthritis (KOA), and the great majority of cases were men.
Among women, a higher continuous Global Dietary Recommendations (GDR) score was inversely associated with the odds of AS-KOA co-occurrence.
Among women, a categorically high GDR score (≥ 1) was associated with markedly lower odds of AS-KOA co-occurrence compared with a low score (≤ -3).
No statistically significant association between diet quality and AS-KOA co-occurrence was found among men or in age- and BMI-stratified analyses.
The authors characterize the findings as preliminary and exploratory, requiring confirmation in larger prospective studies.
This study looked at 1538 iron workers at a large Chinese steel company to see whether eating a healthier diet was linked to having both hardened arteries (arteriosclerosis) and knee osteoarthritis at the same time. Workers answered a diet questionnaire designed for China, and researchers scored how closely their eating matched global dietary recommendations. About 627 workers had both conditions, and most of them were men. Among women, a higher diet quality score was linked to lower odds of having both conditions. Women with the highest scores had much lower odds than those with the lowest scores. However, no clear link was seen among men, nor when the researchers split the workers by age group or body mass index. This research suggests diet quality might be related to these two conditions occurring together in women, but the result is tentative. Only 48 women had both conditions, and because the study captured a single point in time, it cannot show that diet caused the difference. The authors say larger studies that follow people over time are needed to confirm the finding.
Yuan P, Yuan X, Li Z, Guan Z, Zou Z, Li J. (2026). Diet Quality and Co-Occurrence of Arteriosclerosis and Knee Osteoarthritis: A Cross-Sectional Survey Among Chinese Iron Workers from Shougang Group.. Nutrients. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu18203352