Abstract
Background: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative disease that affects joint and causes cartilage loss and thinning. Literature reviews for OA prevalence and incidence are limited due to difficulties in determining and understanding its onset. Worldwide, it is estimated that 18% of women and 9.5% of men >= 60 years have OA symptoms. In Saudi Arabia, there are a limited number of OA studies.
Objective: This study was aimed to assess OA risk factors and severity among patients.
Methods: We conducted a case control study from October to December 2017 at ALHADA Military HospitalsTAIF- Saudi Arabia. To assess OA severity, we used a validated questionnaire, which was The Western Ontario and McMaster universities Osteoarthritis Index. This scale was used to classify OA severity into moderate and severe.
Results: All the 98 OA patients were over 70 years old. Their mean weight was 96 kg, mean height was 164 cm, and the mean BMI was 35.5 kg/m2. The males represented 42.9% of the group. 29.6% of the participants were smokers. Fifty-seven percent of the participants said that they have family history of OA, and 18.4% said that they had history of trauma to the lower limbs. 69% of them presented with moderate OA while 31% had severe OA.
Conclusion: With the aging of the population throughout the world, the health professions must prepare for the large increase in the number of people with OA requiring health service. However, there are identifiable factors which can be targeted for prevention of disabling arthritic pain.