The epidemiology of patellofemoral pain in Majmaah, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Patellofemoral Pain (PFP) is frequently described as clinical knee pain influencing adolescents and physically active adults; however, prevalence and risk factors in a large-scale population is not well established. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of PFP in Majmaah, Saudi Arabia; and to interpret the influence of factors such as age, gender and BMI on the prevalence of PFP. Two hundred and forty-eight subjects including males and females were assessed in this study. A crosssectional study was performed in Majmaah Governorate, and surrounding cities, Saudi Arabia. The prevalence of PFP was considerably high among females (72.3%), while it was 27.7% among males. Moreover, the age was a significant predictor for PFP [OR=1.04, 95% CI-1.01-1.07], while the gender and BMI were not significant predictors. Based on these results, PFP is a commonly reported knee condition among adolescents. Apart from gender factor, overweight persons appear to be more liable to develop PFP. Moreover, increasing age is strongly associated with increasing risk of PFP