Pain And Quality Of Life Among Osteoarthritis Knee Patients Based On VAS And WOMAC

Introduction: Measurements of quality of life (QOL) is an important assessment for osteoarthritis (OA) knee patients as it reflects their impacts and functional limitation. QOL helps the healthcare provider to plan the appropriate coping strategies and make treatment care more patient-centered. The main purpose of this study was to measure the relationship between gender, age and duration of disease with pain intensity and quality of life among (OA) knee patients. This study also aimed to acertain the relationship between the pain intensity and their quality of life. Methods: A clinic based, cross-sectional study using visual anologue scale (VAS) for pain intensity and WOMAC questionnaire for QOL was conducted in physiotherapy department in one Malaysian government hospital over a period of three month. Results: A total of 50 patients (n=25 male and n=25 female) with OA knee that fulfilled the inclusion criteria were recruited. The mean age for subjects in the study was 55.18 +/- 11.854. Majority were Malay, followed by Indian and Chinese which accounted for 66%, 22% and 12 % respectively. Female subjects reported more pain than men with mean +/- SD VAS score 5.80 +/- 1.414 vs 5.24 +/- 1.332 respectively. Meanwhile, level of pain was positively correlated with age (r=0.476**, p <= 0.001) and disease duration (r=.450**, p <= 0.001). There was significant differences between gender (p <= 0.005) and age with negative fair correlation (r=-0.440, -0.358) with WOMAC score, whereas duration of disease is not significant with WOMAC score. The results showed pain level was significant and negative correlation (r=-0.647, p <= 0.001) with WOMAC score. Conclusion: This study has shown that female patients with OA knees reported more pain compared to men. Older age and longer duration of disease scored higher pain intensity. Likewise women, older age group and pain intensity greatly influence QOL among patients with OA knee.