Abstract
Objective: Knee pain is commonly observed among older adults. Therefore, the prevention of knee pain in older adults is a major public health issue. This study aimed to clarify factors relevant to knee pain among older adults. Methods: This study targeted all independent older adults (N = 6661) living in a local municipality in Japan. Participants’ health status and lifestyle habits were surveyed using a questionnaire. The survey was conducted from 15 January to 14 February 2016. Relationships between knee pain and physical activity, sitting time, nutrition, drinking, smoking, or body mass index (BMI) were examined using logistic regression analysis. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) adjusted for several confounding factors were calculated. Results: Older adults of 5311 responded to the questionnaire and 1843 reported knee pain. The prevalence of knee pain was 34.8%. Knee pain was significantly associated with BMI (OR: 0.60, 95% CI: 0.51 - 0.69, P P P P = 0.001). Conclusions: This study suggests that one in three independently-living older adults experiences chronic knee pain and that physical activity, BMI, and nutritional status are associated with knee pain.
Highlights
Musculoskeletal disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis (OA), osteoporosis, and severe lower limb injury are commonly observed among older adults, and may be accompanied by chronic pain [1]
The strength of this study was that comprehensive factors related to knee pain were examined based on the data with low participant selection bias in the community-dwelling older adults
The results showed that one of three independent community-dwelling older adults had chronic knee pain, and that physical activity, body mass index (BMI), and nutritional status were related to knee pain
Summary
Musculoskeletal disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis (OA), osteoporosis, and severe lower limb injury are commonly observed among older adults, and may be accompanied by chronic pain [1]. The mechanism of pain relief through exercise is thought to reduce of the burden on the knee joint by muscle strengthening and metabolic effects (e.g., activation of oxidase enzymes and increased capillary blood flow) in response to the exercises. Biomechanical effects such as reduction of the load on the knee joint following weight loss through aerobic exercise are considered to be indirect effects [8] [9]. This study aimed to clarify the relationship between knee pain and comprehensive factors (including sedentary behavior) based on data with low selection bias drawn from older adults independently living in a community
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