Functional Fitness and Self-Reported Quality of Life of Older Women Diagnosed with Knee Osteoarthrosis: A Cross-Sectional Case Control Study

Aim. Utilizing a cross-sectional case control design, the aim of this study was to evaluate the functional fitness and self-reported quality of life differences in older people diagnosed with knee osteoarthrosis (O) who participated in health promotion groups. Methods. Ninety older women were distributed into two groups: control without O of the knee (C, n = 40 ) and a group diagnosed with primary and secondary knee O with grade II or higher, with definite osteophytes (OA, n = 50 ). Functional fitness was evaluated by specific tests, and the time spent in physical activity and quality of life was evaluated by the IPAQ and WHOQOL (distributed in four domains: physical: P, psychological: PS, social: S, and environmental: E) domain questionnaires. Results. No differences were found between ages of groups (C: 66 ± 7 ; OA: 67 ± 9 ; years). The values of the chair stand test (rep) in the OA ( 13 ± 5 ) group were different when compared to C group ( 22 ± 5 ). For the 6-minute walk test (meters), the values obtained for the C ( 635 ± 142 ) were higher ( P < 0.01 ) than the OA ( 297 ± 143 ) group. The time spent in physical activity (min) was greater ( P < 0.001 ) in the control ( 220 ± 12 ) group compared to OA ( 100 ± 10 ) group. Higher values ( P < 0.001 ) in all domains were found in the C (P: 69 ± 16 , PS: 72 ± 17 , S: 67 ± 15 , E: 70 ± 15 ) group compared to OA (P: 48 ± 7 , PS: 43 ± 8 , S: 53 ± 13 , E: 47 ± 14 ) group. Conclusion. Our data suggests that knee O, in older women, can promote a decline in time spent performing physical activity and functional fitness with decline in quality of life with an increase in sitting time.