Health problems of patients with osteoarthritis and their impact on the health-related quality of life

Background : Osteoarthritis is a chronic non-inflammatory disease and has multi-factorial aetiology. In the effect of a chronic destructive process affecting joints, patients suffer from decreased joint mobility and have problems with everyday functioning; as a result, the disease lowers the patients’ quality of life.

Aim of the study : The objective of the study was to identify major health problems in osteoarthritis patients, evaluate life quality influenced by the state of health, evaluate the degree of physical fitness and ability to cope with everyday tasks and to describe the role of the therapeutic team in solving patients’ health problems and improvement of quality of life.

Material and methods : The study group consisted of 100 randomly chosen patients with diagnosed osteoarthritis according to the ACR criteria. The basic research tools included a survey questionnaire and Disability Index HAQ (0–3), Lequesne Index (0–24), WOMAC scale (0–100), Visual-Analogue Pain Assessment Scale (VAS 0–100) and life quality questionnaire WHOQOL BREF (4–20).

Results : Pain was the most often reported health problem (82%), 64% of subjects reported pain very often (WOMAC A – 56.86, pain during movement (VAS) – 61.14, pain during rest (VAS) – 47.33) p < 0.05. With age of subjects the dependence on support of others increased (WOMAC A – 79.4, WOMAC B – 84.06, WOMAC C – 86.3; Lequesne index – 20.75, HAQ – 2.6) p  0.05. In total, 51 subjects reported serious, permanent difficulties in joints function and joints mobility (WOMAC C – 71.48, Lequesne index – 17.47, HAQ – 1.9) p  0.05. In HRQOL, the lowest test results were observed in the psychological and physical dimension. Most of respondents (n = 65) frequently reported low mood, sense of social isolation and limitation in fulfilling life roles.

Conclusions : Chronic pain was the main problem of osteoarthritis patients. The disease duration significantly influenced the physical fitness: difficulties with mobility and everyday functioning. In the subjective evaluation of HRQOL, psychological and physical dimensions gave the poorest results. The primary aim of care is to lower the level of pain and improve the function of joints as well as limit invalidity and provide patients with emotional and information support.