PREVALENCE OF KNEE OSTEOARTHRITIS AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN MIDDLE AGED ADULTS

Background: Osteoarthritis is the leading cause of disability and it causes gradual loss of articular cartilage among middle aged and older adults. Knee osteoarthritis is estimated to be the most common rheumatic condition in the Asia-Pacific region. Objective: To find out the prevalence of knee osteoarthritis in middle aged adults having knee pain and knee quality of life. Study design: Cross sectional descriptive survey Place and duration: Data was collected from outpatient departments of Al-nafees hospital, national institute of rehabilitation medicine, sheikh zaid hospital and some private setups in Rawalpindi and Islamabad in 04 months from August 2017 to Nov 2017. Methodology: The sample size was 377. A demographic questionnaire and standardized instrument KOOS was filled by patients satisfying the inclusion criteria. Scores for each of the respondents over each of the sub-scales were calculated. Results were presented as percentages and frequencies. Results: The results showed that 43.50% study participants had knee osteoarthritis. The mean score of different domains of KOOS was in range of 19-22 which is poor on scale of 0-100 showing the overall quality of life in patients with knee osteoarthritis is very low. Conclusion: Osteoarthritis is common in Pakistan. The main factors leading to Osteoarthritis are obesity and sedentary lifestyle. Keywords: Knee pain, Osteoarthritis , quality of life