Study: Socioeconomic Factors Influence Pain for Osteoarthritis Patients

Social, economic and psychological factors influence pain and function in patients with knee or hip osteoarthritis, according to researchers in Singapore.

Researchers conducted a study of 126 Asian patients, 103 of whom were women. The individuals, average age 60.5 years, were suffering from knee or hip osteoarthritis. The participants underwent an assessment of bodily pain and physical functioning. Demographic, socioeconomic, psychosocial and other characteristics were recorded.

The most symptomatic joint was the knee in 118 (94 percent) and the hip in eight (6 percent) of the patients, according to the report in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. The average duration of pain was three years and the average duration of a limitation of normal activities was one year.

Less pain was linked with a younger age, shorter duration of symptoms, more years of education, working and Chinese ethnicity. Better physical function was linked with more years of education, less learned helplessness, less bodily pain and less severe osteoarthritis.

"Socioeconomic status and psychosocial factors, some of which are potentially modifiable, influence pain or physical function in Asian patients with osteoarthritis in Singapore," concluded the researchers.

Other sources: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases