{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,1]],"date-time":"2026-06-01T18:32:52Z","timestamp":1780338772032,"version":"3.54.1"},"reference-count":44,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"18","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,12]],"date-time":"2025-09-12T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1757635200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JCM"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: Osteoarthritis is a slowly evolving joint disorder defined by cartilage degradation, synovial inflammation, subchondral bone hardening, and the growth of osteophytes. Increasing evidence highlights the role of metabolic factors in osteoarthritis onset and progression. This study investigated the link between metabolic syndrome and the level of knee impairment in postmenopausal respondents suffering from knee osteoarthritis. Methods: A total of 200 participants aged 60\u201375 years with knee pain were enrolled in this observational cross-sectional study conducted between 2022 and 2023. The case group comprised 120 women with radiographically verified knee osteoarthritis (Kellgren\u2013Lawrence grades II\u2013IV), while 80 age-matched women without radiographic changes served as controls. Clinical and anthropometric measures, metabolic indicators, and radiographic findings were collected. Functional status was assessed using the Lower Extremity Functional Scale and the Lequesne Index. Results: The groups differed significantly with respect to the presence of metabolic syndrome, diastolic blood pressure, and fasting glucose level (p &lt; 0.05). The metabolic syndrome showed modest but significant associations with radiographic knee damage (effect size 4.7%). After adjusting for smoking status and physical activity level, metabolic syndrome remained significantly associated with radiographic damage (effect sizes: 4.8 and 2.2%, respectively). Participants with osteoarthritis but without metabolic syndrome had better functional knee status compared to those with metabolic syndrome (p &lt; 0.05). Conclusions: In postmenopausal women, metabolic syndrome is independently associated with radiographic knee damage and contributes to poorer functional outcomes in participants with knee osteoarthritis, underscoring its potential role as a modifiable risk factor.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jcm14186442","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,12]],"date-time":"2025-09-12T13:43:02Z","timestamp":1757684582000},"page":"6442","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Metabolic Dysregulation in Postmenopause: Implications for Knee Joint Health"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6784-8618","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ivana","family":"Minakovi\u0107","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, University of Novi Sad, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia"},{"name":"Health Center \u201cNovi Sad\u201d, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3489-4351","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jelena","family":"Zveki\u0107-Svorcan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, University of Novi Sad, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia"},{"name":"Special Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases Novi Sad, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mirjana","family":"Smu\u0111a","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, University of Novi Sad, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia"},{"name":"Department of Higher Medical School, The Academy of Applied Studies Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0001-4985-5750","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Bela","family":"Kolar\u0161","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, University of Novi Sad, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia"},{"name":"Health Center \u201cNovi Sad\u201d, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Darko","family":"Miki\u0107","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Medical Faculty of the Military Medical Academy, University of Defence, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"},{"name":"Pathology and Forensic Medicine Institute, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4882-1794","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tanja","family":"Jankovi\u0107","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, University of Novi Sad, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia"},{"name":"Special Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases Novi Sad, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0008-7714-7920","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Monika","family":"\u0160ili","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, University of Novi Sad, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Miljanka","family":"Vuksanovi\u0107","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"},{"name":"Department of Endocrinology, Clinical Hospital Center Zvezdara, Internal Clinic, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nevena","family":"\u0110uki\u0107","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute for Pulmonary Diseases of Vojvodina, 21204 Sremska Kamenica, Serbia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3200-0676","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Vesna","family":"Mijatovi\u0107 Jovin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Clinical Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Novi Sad, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,12]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"289","DOI":"10.1186\/s13075-019-2081-x","article-title":"The Burden of Metabolic Syndrome on Osteoarthritic Joints","volume":"21","author":"Dickson","year":"2019","journal-title":"Arthritis Res. 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