Quality Of Life In Patients With Knee Arthritis In Slovak Republic

OBJECTIVES: The prevalence of knee arthritis (KA) in Slovak Republic is about 250 000 cases. No study was published about the impact of KA on quality of life (QoL) and work ability (WA) in patients with KA in Slovak Republic. METHODS: 120 patients were evaluted, 68 women and 52 men, with the average age being 62,6 years, weight - 84,8 kg and height - 166,5 cm. 19 patients had KA in grade II, 99 -grade III and 2 - grade IV. Average duration of the disesase was 8,2 years. The primary method used for the analysis of QoL was a combined questionnaire consisting of 5 parts: A. Demography, B. Clinical part, C. Quality of life, D. Socio-economic part, E. Special questions. QoL and WA were evaluated on numeric scales from 0 - the worst to 10 - the best. Statistical methods from Excel 2010 were used in results evaluation. RESULTS: Significant statistical differences in QoL were found: in the time of best health- 8,9, without knee arthritis (KA) - 8,2, in the time of diagnosis - 4,2 and in the recent time - 4,9. Similar results were gained in WA: 9,2 vs 8,4 vs 2,7 vs 2,6 and in pain evaluation: 9,3 vs 8,0 vs 2,5 vs 3,3. The results from QoL and WA were in strong correlation. Foreknowledge of disease (1-the worst, 5-the best) was 3,3, satisfaction with medical care - 4,2 and nursing care - 4,4. Willingness to pay for full health withou KA was 88,5 £ monthly by average monthly income 385,4 6. CONCLUSIONS: KA has a significant negative impact on patients1 QoL and WA. The dominant factor of QoL and WA is knee pain. Treatment has positive impact on QoL but no impact on WA. There are significant differences in QoL and WA in duration of KA.