Abstract
Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a prevalent chronic disorder in the older population. While timely management is important to minimize the consequences of knee OA, information on the utilization of healthcare services among this population remains limited. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to determine the healthcare utilization and its associated factors in older persons with knee OA. Cross-sectional data from 1073 participants aged 60 years and above from the Malaysian Elders Longitudinal Research (MELoR) study were included. The utilization rate of healthcare services was quantified. Factors related to the utilization of healthcare services were determined using logistic regression analysis. Healthcare utilization among participants with knee OA was significantly higher than those without knee OA (p < 0.01). Outpatient usage was higher (p < 0.01) in comparison to inpatient and pharmacotherapy. Being married and having an income were significantly associated with seeking outpatient care (OR: 11.136, 95% CI: 1.73–52.82, p < 0.01) and pharmacotherapy (OR: 10.439, 95% CI: 1.187–91.812, p < 0.05), while females were less likely to utilize inpatient care services (OR: 0.126, 95% CI: 0.021–0.746, p < 0.05). The higher rate of healthcare utilization among older persons with knee OA indicates the increased healthcare needs of this population, who are commonly assumed to suffer from a benign disease.
Highlights
Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a prevalent chronic disorder that increases in prevalence from late middle-age to old age
Knee OA was less likely associated with Chinese ethnicity, higher educational levels, and absence of comorbid conditions (p < 0.001, p < 0.001 and p < 0.05, respectively)
More than half of the older persons with knee OA reported moderate to severe pain severity (63.5%)
Summary
Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a prevalent chronic disorder that increases in prevalence from late middle-age to old age. The prevalence of knee OA among the older population in the United States, Europe, Middle East, and Asian countries is around 13% to 20% [1], 9–17% [2], 22% to 25% [3], and 10% to 38% [4,5], respectively. As age and obesity are the main risk factors of OA, these figures are projected to escalate with the global population aging and the obesity epidemic [6,7]. The symptoms burden associated with this chronic and disabling condition is expected to lead to increased healthcare utilization. Individuals with OA are expected to access healthcare services through both outpatient and inpatient hospital
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