Health-related and overall quality of life of patients with chronic hip and knee complaints in general practice

Abstract

Background: Information about quality of life of patients with chronic hip or knee complaints in general practice is scarce. This study describes the health-related and overall quality of life (HRQL) of these complaints. Methods: Data were obtained from a cohort study in general practice. HRQL at three months follow-up was analysed. HRQL was measured as: symptoms, physical, psychological and social functioning, and general health perceptions, using the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities osteoarthritis index (WOMAC) and the MOS 36-item short-form-health survey (SF-36). Overall quality of life was measured using a 5-point rating scale. Results: The results show that patients with chronic hip or knee complaints have a substantial lower HRQL compared to patients who had recovered from baseline hip or knee complaints. The largest effect was found on symptoms and physical functioning: up to 2.9 standard deviations below patients who had recovered from baseline hip or knee complaints. Scores of patients with both chronic hip and knee complaints were significantly worse than scores of patients with only knee complaints on most subscales. Conclusion: In patients with chronic hip or knee complaints the worst scores were seen on scales that measure symptoms and physical functioning, but still a substantially lower score was obtained for overall quality of life. Quality of life was poorer for patients with both chronic hip and knee complaints compared to those with chronic hip or knee complaints only.

Impact of Rehabilitation on Health Related Quality of Life in Patients with Hip Osteoarthritis

“…The SF-36 RS domain showed the largest improvement after rehabilitation; this finding contradicted the results observed in other studies (14,19,23), with some studies reporting high scores for that domain before rehabilitation (1,12). Generally, hip OA patients receive low scores for the SF-36 BP domain (1,12,14,15,(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24), which was in accordance with our results; thus, after rehabilitation, this was one of the domains that showed moderate improvement in our patients, although other studies reported that this domain showed the greatest improvement (14-16, 20, 23, 25). A Cochrane review from 2014 (26) included nine studies (549 patients) and showed that exercise therapy reduces pain and improves physical function immediately after treatment.…”

“…In fact, the average SF-36 RP domain score reported in this study was lower than that recorded in other studies (12,14,(20)(21)(22)(23), while Krauss et al reported the highest score for this domain (5). After rehabilitation, the SF-36 RP domain showed the greatest improvement, followed by the RE domain.…”

Responsiveness of the Harris Hip Score and the SF-36: five years after total hip arthroplasty

“…Previous studies have compared disease-specific and generic instruments [3][4][5]. Disease-specific measures are traditionally used in longitudinal studies or in clinical trials to detect progressive changes after medical or surgical interventions, particularly changes in pain and physical functions [6,7]. The Harris Hip Score (HHS), a disease-specific HRQoL instrument, is widely used by physicians to assess physical function and pain relief in patients with hip disease [8].…”

Course and prognosis of knee complaints in general practice

“…This study showed that most patients still had their knee pain after 1 year. Because knee pain has a substantial impact on individuals' lives (48) and on their use of primary health care resources (49), the need to identify practical and effective means of reducing this burden should be a priority for research and development in primary care. Future research should focus not only on physical interventions, but also on psychological interventions.…”