STUDY ON HEALTH RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE AMONG KNEE OSTEOARTHRITIS PATIENTS

Abstract

The main aim was to measure the quality of life among symptomatic knee osteoarthritis (OA) patients attending a primary care clinic and to find any correlation between the medical status and socio-demographic characteristics of knee OA patients with their quality of life. Methods: A cross-sectional study using SF-12 form questionnaire was conducted in a primary care clinic in Kedah, Malaysia. By universal sampling, all symptomatic knee OA patients visiting this clinic were given the questionnaire after consulting the doctor. Results: A total of 126 patients were recruited. 30 (23.8%) were men and 96 (76.2%) were women. The mean age of the patients was 63.6 years ± 10.3 SD. Half of the patients had their body mass index (BMI) in the obese category. The mean duration of knee pain was 1.87 years ± 0.66 SD. The commonest co-morbidity was hypertension (34.2%). Domains related to the physical health status showed relatively lower scores compared to the mental health components. There was a significant negative correlation between physical functioning (PF) and age (p<0.05). Patients without any co-morbidities scored higher than those with co-morbidities. Quality of life (QOL) scores were better among employed patients compared to the unemployed. Patients with no formal education scored lower than those with formal education, with significant differences in the physical functioning (PF), role physical (RP), and general health (GH) components. Conclusion: This study showed that patients with knee OA had a lower score in physical health status compared to the mental health component.