Associations between pain, function and quality of life after total hip arthroplasty

Objectives: This study investigated patient reported outcomes, and associations with improvement in quality of life 12-months after total hip arthroplasty (THA). Materials and methods: Participants: Adults (n = 433) undergoing THA for osteoarthritis between January 2017 and October 2020 in a large publicly funded tertiary hospital in New Zealand. Participants completed patient reported outcome measures of pain, function and quality of life (QOL) preoperatively, 6and 12-months following THA. Results: Clinically significant changes in domains of pain and function were associated with improved QOL, even when pre-operation scores were controlled for. The largest gains in all three domains occurred in the pre-to 6month post-operation period. Baseline demographic variables such as gender and comorbidities were not associated with change in QOL pre-to post-operation. However, although modest, age at surgery was negatively correlated with change in QOL. Conclusions: THA contributes to substantial improvements in QOL, pain and function outcomes, and although possibly tempered by age, these relationships are likely to be inter-related and mutually reinforcing. Future QOL outcomes research should also consider the impacts on QOL improvement of other aspects of functioning such as psychological and social wellbeing.