Quality of life and functional capacity of elderly women with knee osteoarthritis

Abstract

Objective:To correlate functional ability and quality of life of elderly women with knee osteoarthritis.Methods:Cross-sectional study composed of 40 elderly women with knee osteoarthritis. We used the following instruments: identification questionnaire, Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC), and World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire-OLD (WHOQOL-OLD). The significance level was 0.05 (5%), and confidence intervals were 95%. For statistical analysis we used parametric statistical tests, descriptive analysis, test for equality of two proportions, Pearson's correlation, correlation test, and analysis of variance.Results:The mean age (± standard deviation) was 74.1 (±6.7) years, and 47.5% of patients had osteoarthritis in both knees. Moderate pain was reported by 45% of patients when they walked on a flat plane and 40% when they were seated or lying down; 55% had severe or very severe pain when climbing or descending stairs; 50% reported moderate joint stiffness after sitting, lying, or resting; and 65% reported moderate or little stiffness after waking. In physical function, 60% of patients had moderate or severe difficulty in descending stairs and 67.5%, when climbing stairs; 60% reported severe or very severe difficulty in getting in and out of the car, and 70%, when performing strenuous housework. The correlation with WHOQOL-OLD and WOMAC was negative and not significant except for autonomy, which was significant. Sedentary and elderly women who used walking aid devices had worse WOMAC functional capacity, but this finding was not statistically significant. In WHOQOL-OLD, volunteers scored higher on social participation and engagement in physical activity on autonomy, which was statistically significant compared with the nonvoluntary and sedentary domains, respectively.Conclusion:It is possible to have a good quality of life even with functional impairment from knee osteoarthritis.

Quality of Life and Functional Independence in Patients with Osteoarthritis of the Knee

“…Alves and Bassitt10) found that half of their patients with OA reported intense or very intense pain when climbing up and down stairs and performing domestic tasks; a major portion of their patients complained of rigidity associated with moderate difficulty of physical function. They also described that the greatest reductions in QOL were strongly associated with the loss of FI10).…”

Effects of resistance exercise using the elastic band on the pain and function of patients with degenerative knee arthritis

“…Degenerative knee arthritis is the most frequent chronic disease among the elderly aged 65 years or older. These patients suffer repeated cycles of worsening and relief of symptoms, which cause various physical and psychological problems 1) . Degenerative knee arthritis develops frequently in the synovial joints and is often accompanied by pathological changes such as damage to articular cartilage and osteophytosis, radiological changes such as narrowing of the joint cavity, joint pain, rigidity, limitation of movement, and joint friction.…”

Perfil clínico-epidemiológico dos pacientes em pós-operatório de artroplastia em um hospital do sul de Minas Gerais / Epidemiological clinical profile of patients in arthroplasty postoperative period in a hospital south of Minas Gerais

“…15 Quanto aos pacientes que realizaram artroplastia de joelho, 73,3% apresentaram a artrose como principal mecanismo de lesão, diferindo dos estudos realizados 6,19 que evidencia a gonartrose. No entanto, a artrose é a queixa musculoesquelética mais comum, atingindo 10% da população mundial com idade acima de 60 anos, 20 influenciando na qualidade de vida, sobretudo nas mulheres, as quais possuem maior perda funcional, mais dor referida e maior comprometimento da qualidade de vida em relação aos homens da mesma faixa etária. 21 Na análise quanto ao tipo de artroplastia, 83,4% foram responsáveis pela substituição total do quadril e quanto ao tipo de prótese; 82,2% das artroplastias foram realizadas com a cimentada.…”