Original articleSex and Body Mass Index Correlate With Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index and Quality of Life Scores in Knee Osteoarthritis
Section snippets
Design
This was a retrospective cross-sectional survey of OA symptoms reported by patients with knee OA, who were evaluated for treatment at the All Phases of Step Cycle Therapy Center, Israel. Data were collected retrospectively from a secure database system.
Recruitment of Participants
The clinic treats patients throughout Israel using a customized biomechanical gait therapy for patients with musculoskeletal disorders. The majority of patients arrive from Tel Aviv and Haifa. The database was reviewed for all knee OA patients
Participant Characteristics
This was a cross-sectional analysis of 1487 patients (950 women and 537 men) who came to 1 therapy clinic with symptomatic knee OA. The mean age was 61.9±10.6 years, and the mean BMI was 30.9±6.2kg/m2.
Sex
A significant difference was found between sexes for all WOMAC and SF-36 subcategories. Women patients with knee OA reported significantly worse symptoms than men in all knee OA questionnaire subcategories. Results are presented in table 1.
BMI and Age
An increase in BMI correlated significantly with worse
Discussion
This was a cross-sectional survey of 1487 knee OA patients. Results showed that men and women differed in all questionnaire subcategories of symptomatic knee OA, with women reporting worse symptoms. The correlation and Kruskal-Wallis calculations complemented each other and demonstrated that BMI, rather than age, was correlated with all measures of knee OA symptomatic severity. An examination of the interaction effect of sex on the association between BMI and knee OA symptomatic severity showed
Conclusions
Being a woman and increased BMI correlated with worse symptoms of knee OA as evaluated by the WOMAC questionnaire and SF-36. The relationship between BMI and knee OA symptomatic severity was stronger in women than in men. Increased age only weakly correlated with an increase in knee OA functional severity. These findings are important in caring for and advising patients with knee OA, especially women and overweight patients. Current and future interventions for knee OA should be designed or
Acknowledgements
We thank Nira Koren-Morag, PhD, for statistical analysis assistance.
References (23)
- et al.
Efficacy of methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) in osteoarthritis pain of the knee: a pilot clinical trial
Osteoarthr Cartilage
(2006) - et al.
Body mass index in young men and the risk of subsequent knee and hip osteoarthritis
Am J Med
(1999) - et al.
Gender differences in pain, coping, and mood in individuals having osteoarthritic knee pain: a within-day analysis
Pain
(2004) - et al.
A prospective study on knee pain and its risk factors
Osteoarthritis Cartil
(2002) - et al.
Prevalence of knee osteoarthritis in the United States: arthritis data from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1991–1994
J Rheumatol
(2006) - et al.
Differences in gait patterns, pain, function and quality of life between males and females with knee osteoarthritis: a clinical trial
BMC Musculoskelet Disord
(2009) - et al.
Overweight, gender and knee osteoarthritis
Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord
(1996) - et al.
Prevalence of knee osteoarthritis, lumbar spondylosis, and osteoporosis in Japanese men and women: the research on osteoarthritis/osteoporosis against disability study
J Bone Miner Metab
(2009) - et al.
Correlation of pain intensity in men and women with hip and knee osteoarthritisResults of a national survey: the French ARTHRIX Study
J Clin Pain
(2009) - et al.
Weight loss reduces the risk for symptomatic knee osteoarthritis in womenThe Framingham Study
Ann Intern Med
(1992)
Knee osteoarthritis and obesity
Int J Obes
Cited by (37)
Sex- and osteoarthritis-related differences in muscle co-activation during weight-bearing tasks
2020, Gait and PostureCitation Excerpt :The further implications of sex in the relationship between muscle function and knee OA may be able to explain why females are at an increased risk of knee OA. Women with knee OA have been shown to have poorer health outcomes [21], specifically elevated pain levels [22] and impaired physical and self-reported function [18], compared to men. Reduced muscle function is associated with pain and functional limitations and may, therefore, explain these differences [23,24].
Effect of body mass index on knee function outcomes following continuous passive motion in patients with osteoarthritis after total knee replacement: a retrospective study
2017, Physiotherapy (United Kingdom)Citation Excerpt :Obesity and its associated comorbidities, such as diabetes mellitus and cardiac disease, restrict physical performance and functional mobility in elderly people and patients with osteoarthritis (OA) [7]. This effect on physical disability potentially exists in obese patients with TKR [8]. Previous studies have reported that obese patients who underwent TKR surgery were at high risk of peri-operative complications and poor short-term outcomes in terms of ROM, mobility and physical function [9,10].
Effects of Obesity on Function and Quality of Life in Chronic Pain
2017, Nutritional Modulators of Pain in the Aging PopulationCross-sectional association between muscle strength and self-reported physical function in 195 hip osteoarthritis patients
2017, Seminars in Arthritis and RheumatismCitation Excerpt :To optimize the pragmatic application of our findings age, pain, and radiographic disease severity were included as covariates given that each satisfied the criteria by Shrier and Platt [23]. Increasing age has been associated with reduced muscle strength [24], and difficulty with physical function in people with knee OA [25]. Pain was also considered a covariate given its association with worse difficulty with physical dysfunction [26].
Knee dysfunction in the general population and associated factors
2016, Cirugia y Cirujanos
No commercial party having a direct financial interest in the results of the research supporting this article has or will confer a benefit on the authors or on any organization with which the authors are associated.
Clinical trial registration number: NCT00767780.