Relationship between symptomatic knee osteoarthritis and frailty among elderly people in China / 中华老年医学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To analysis the relationship between symptomatic knee osteoarthritis and frailty in older Chinese adults.Methods:In this retrospective study, follow-up data between 2011 and 2015 from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study(CHARLS)were analyzed.Participates over 60 years old were divided into a frailty group, a pre-frailty group, and a normal group, according to the frailty phenotype.Cross-sectional analysis was conducted to examine the relationship between frailty and symptomatic knee osteoarthritis, and the role of symptomatic knee osteoarthritis in the progression of frailty in normal elderly people was further analyzed using a retrospective cohort.Results:In 2011, 5.9% of the elderly were frail and 15.1% of the elderly suffered knee pain.Univariate and multivariate regression analysis indicated that knee pain was a risk factor for frailty( OR 1.91, 95% CI 1.37-2.61, P<0.01).After a 4 year-follow-up, 41.7% of the normal elderly participants progressed to the frail or pre-frail state.Multivariate regression analysis suggested that knee pain was a risk factor for normal elderly people to enter the frail or pre-frail state( OR 1.57, 95% CI 1.00-2.45, P<0.05). Conclusions:Knee pain is one of the important risk factors for the development of frailty in the elderly.Normal elderly people with knee pain are at an increased risk of frailty or pre-frailty in later years.