Sex and body mass index correlate with Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index and quality of life scores in knee osteoarthritis.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the associations of sex, body mass index (BMI), and age with knee osteoarthritis (OA) symptomatic severity.

DESIGN: A cross-sectional retrospective analysis.

SETTING: Patients completed the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) questionnaire and Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36). Data were acquired from a stored database of a private therapy center.

PARTICIPANTS: Patients (N=1487) with symptomatic knee OA were evaluated.

INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: WOMAC questionnaire and SF-36.

RESULTS: BMI correlated significantly with worse knee OA symptoms for all WOMAC and SF-36 subcategories (all P ≤.001). Age correlated significantly with worse symptoms only for WOMAC function and SF-36 physical functioning (P=.001 and P=.009, respectively). A significant difference across BMI quintiles was found for all WOMAC and SF-36 subcategories (all P ≤.01). Women showed worse knee OA symptoms in all WOMAC and SF-36 subcategories (all P ≤.001). There was a significant interaction of sex by BMI in WOMAC pain and WOMAC function (P=.01 and P=.02, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS: Based on the results of this analysis, it can be concluded that women and patients with a higher BMI with knee OA are at a greater risk for worse symptoms.