Article

Mobility activity modifications indicate early functional losses that
act as precursors to future declines among community-dwelling older adults.
However, there is scarce evidence on whether activity modifications indicate
poorer physical health among adults with symptomatic osteoarthritis, a major
cause of disability. Our purpose was to investigate whether patient-reported
mobility activity modifications indicated poorer physical health among adults
with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis. DESIGN: Secondary cross-sectional analysis
of randomized trial data was performed. Preclinical Disability Questionnaire was
used to group participants into the following three categories: difficulty,
modified, and no difficulty walking/stair climbing. Kruskal Wallis and chi tests
were used to compare clinical factors across groups. RESULTS: Among 121
participants (median age = 60 yrs; 73% female; 60% white), less than 10% had
modified walking/stair climbing. Compared with those with no walking difficulty,
participants with modified walking had significantly less balance (P = 0.01) and
global health (P = 0.01) as well as greater knee pain (P = 0.05) and physical
disability (P = 0.04). Those with modified stair climbing had significantly
smaller walking distances (P = 0.03) compared with those with no difficulty stair
climbing. CONCLUSIONS:
Activity modifications may signal early impairments in
physical health among people with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis. If confirmed,
patient-reported activity modifications may enhance symptom evaluation in
osteoarthritis and enable a better understanding of the disablement process.

Langue : ANGLAIS