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Plasma fatty acids reflect pain, disability, and psychological well-being in knee osteoarthritis in a longitudinal study with joint replacement surgery
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  • Published: 22 January 2026

Plasma fatty acids reflect pain, disability, and psychological well-being in knee osteoarthritis in a longitudinal study with joint replacement surgery

  • Anne-Mari Mustonen  ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-2266-25181,2,
  • Laura Säisänen3,4,5,6,
  • Lauri Karttunen7,
  • Amir Esrafilian4,8,
  • Petro Julkunen3,4,
  • Jusa Reijonen3,4,
  • Reijo Käkelä9,10,
  • Sanna P. Sihvo9,10,
  • Juho Kopra11,
  • Heikki Kröger12,13,
  • Jari Arokoski14,15 &
  • …
  • Petteri Nieminen1 

Scientific Reports , Article number:  (2026) Cite this article

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We are providing an unedited version of this manuscript to give early access to its findings. Before final publication, the manuscript will undergo further editing. Please note there may be errors present which affect the content, and all legal disclaimers apply.

Subjects

  • Biomarkers
  • Diseases
  • Medical research
  • Pathogenesis
  • Rheumatology

Abstract

We investigated the associations of pro- and anti-inflammatory fatty acids (FAs) with cartilage degradation, functional limitations, pain, and psychological well-being in knee osteoarthritis (KOA). Fasting plasma samples were obtained from controls (n = 12) and from end-stage KOA patients at baseline (n = 13), and 3 months (n = 11) and 12 months (n = 9) after knee replacement surgery. FA composition in total lipids was analyzed with gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. Cartilage loss was determined by magnetic resonance imaging, and knee pain and disability by physical performance and quantitative sensory testing, neuromuscular examination, and several questionnaires. The associations between variables were tested with the univariate analysis of variance adjusted for age and body mass index. KOA was characterized with elevated baseline 16:1n-7 percentages, while the proportions of 24:0 decreased 12 months after surgery and those of 24:1n-9 decreased 3 and 12 months after surgery. Several FA variables, such as 20:3n-6, 20:4n-6, long-chain saturated FAs, and 24:1n-9, were associated with pain, stiffness, disability, pain self-efficacy, or mental health. Circulating FAs can predict KOA symptoms, independent of age and body adiposity, and provide promising targets to design novel pain treatments.

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Data availability

All relevant data analyzed during this study are included in this published article and its supplementary information files.

Abbreviations

ANOVA:

Analysis of variance

BAI:

Beck anxiety inventory

BDI:

Beck depression inventory

BMI:

Body mass index

CE:

Cholesterol ester

DA:

Discriminant analysis

DI:

Desaturation index

DMA:

Dimethyl acetal

FA:

Fatty acid

FAME:

Fatty acid methyl ester

GLM:

Generalized linear model

IL:

Interleukin

KOA:

Knee osteoarthritis

LICI:

Long-interval cortical inhibition

LM:

Lipid mediator

MRI:

Magnetic resonance imaging

MUFA:

Monounsaturated fatty acid

NSAID:

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug

nTMS:

Navigated transcranial magnetic stimulation

OA:

Osteoarthritis

PL:

Phospholipid

PPT:

Pressure pain threshold

PSEQ:

Pain self-efficacy questionnaire

PUFA:

Polyunsaturated fatty acid

RA:

Rheumatoid arthritis

rMT:

Resting motor threshold

ROM:

Range of motion

rs :

Spearman correlation coefficient

Rv:

Resolvin

SE:

Standard error of the mean

SF:

Synovial fluid

SFA:

Saturated fatty acid

TKA:

Total knee arthroplasty

TNF-α :

Tumor necrosis factor-α

TPD:

Two-point discrimination

VAS:

Visual analog scale

WOMAC:

Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index

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Acknowledgements

Taija Hukkanen is greatly acknowledged for the blood sampling and transmethylation of the samples, and Meri Julkunen and Anna-Leena Voutilainen for coordinating the study. We are also thankful for Heikki Kyykallio, Johanna Matilainen, and Tommi Paakkonen for technical assistance.

Funding

Financial support for the study was provided by the Research Council of Finland (grant #322429). The funding source had no involvement in the study design, in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data, in the writing of the report, or in the decision to submit the article for publication.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Biomedicine, School of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland

    Anne-Mari Mustonen & Petteri Nieminen

  2. Department of Environmental and Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Forestry and Technology, University of Eastern Finland, Joensuu, Finland

    Anne-Mari Mustonen

  3. Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio, Finland

    Laura Säisänen, Petro Julkunen & Jusa Reijonen

  4. Department of Technical Physics, Faculty of Science, Forestry and Technology, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland

    Laura Säisänen, Amir Esrafilian, Petro Julkunen & Jusa Reijonen

  5. Institute of Clinical Medicine, School of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland

    Laura Säisänen

  6. Neuro Center, Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio, Finland

    Laura Säisänen

  7. Department of Rehabilitation, Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio, Finland

    Lauri Karttunen

  8. Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA

    Amir Esrafilian

  9. Molecular and Integrative Biosciences Research Programme, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

    Reijo Käkelä & Sanna P. Sihvo

  10. Helsinki University Lipidomics Unit (HiLIPID), Helsinki Institute of Life Science (HiLIFE) and Biocenter Finland, Helsinki, Finland

    Reijo Käkelä & Sanna P. Sihvo

  11. School of Computing, Faculty of Science, Forestry and Technology, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland

    Juho Kopra

  12. Department of Orthopaedics, Traumatology and Hand Surgery, Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio, Finland

    Heikki Kröger

  13. Kuopio Musculoskeletal Research Unit, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland

    Heikki Kröger

  14. Department of Internal Medicine and Rehabilitation, Division of Rehabilitation, Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland

    Jari Arokoski

  15. University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

    Jari Arokoski

Authors
  1. Anne-Mari Mustonen
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  2. Laura Säisänen
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  3. Lauri Karttunen
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Contributions

PN, PJ, HK, and JA designed and coordinated the study. HK collected the samples, and LS, JR, and PJ conducted the physical analyses and LK the physiatric measurements. JR performed the magnetic resonance imaging, and AE determined the thickness of articular cartilage. RK and SPS performed the fatty acid analyses. PN integrated the chromatograms, and PN, A-MM, and JK conducted the statistical analyses and prepared the images. A-MM drafted the manuscript. All authors revised the draft critically and read and approved the final submitted manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Anne-Mari Mustonen.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

Petro Julkunen reports unrelated consulting fees and a patent with Nexstim Plc (Helsinki, Finland), a manufacturer of navigated transcranial magnetic stimulation systems. Jusa Reijonen reports unrelated consulting fees with Nexstim Plc. The other authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.

Ethics approval and consent to participate

This study was performed in line with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. Ethical approval was obtained from the Ethical Committee of Kuopio University Hospital (decision #140/2017, amendment 8/2020). Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

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Mustonen, AM., Säisänen, L., Karttunen, L. et al. Plasma fatty acids reflect pain, disability, and psychological well-being in knee osteoarthritis in a longitudinal study with joint replacement surgery. Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-36812-8

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  • Received: 26 March 2024

  • Accepted: 16 January 2026

  • Published: 22 January 2026

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-36812-8

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Keywords

  • Fatty acid
  • Functional disability
  • Knee
  • Mental health
  • Osteoarthritis
  • Pain
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