The effects of risk factors on knee osteoarthritis outcomes in elderly patients in Iran

Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is the most common joint disease in the elderly and one of the main causes of disability. Although many studies have been conducted on the osteoarthritis risk factors, studies on the outcomes of risk factors of KOA are limited. Therefore, this study aimed at exploring the outcomes of contributing risk factors in older adults with KOA.

The study was conducted on 332 older adults with KOA. Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) was applied to measure KOA outcomes and outcomes risk factors questionnaire were completed to assess potential explanatory variables. Univariate analysis and multivariate logistic regression were done to identify the risk factors for KOA outcomes.

The results of multiple linear regression analysis showed that repetitive use of joints (B= -0.420 to -0.509, p <0.001) and diabetes (B=-0.250, p <0.01 to -0.445, p <0.001) were the most common risk factors related to all KOA outcomes, followed by BMI (B=-0.247, p<0.05  to -0.458, p<0.001) and multimorbidity (B =-0.225, p<0.01  to -0.345, p<0.001). Increasing age, gender, and hypertension variables were associated with only some of the KOA outcomes, which generally included a decrease in sport/recreation, quality of life, activity daily living and an increase in pain and other symptoms.

The multiplicity of chronic diseases can complicate the KOA outcomes by influencing management decisions. Although, proper management of chronic diseases can improve the KOA outcomes, more studies on multimorbidity in KOA are needed. Pay attention to the guidelines for preventing the KOA outcomes by focusing on lifestyle modification, correct use of the knee joint and weight control, is necessary in future researches.