Quality of life and functional capacity of elderly women with knee osteoarthritis.

Objective: To correlate functional ability and quality of life of elderly women with knee osteoarthritis.

Methods: Cross-sectional study composed of 40 elderly women with knee osteoarthritis. We used the following instruments: identification questionnaire, Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC), and World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire-OLD (WHOQOL-OLD). The significance level was 0.05 (5%), and confidence intervals were 95%. For statistical analysis we used parametric statistical tests, descriptive analysis, test for equality of two proportions, Pearson's correlation, correlation test, and analysis of variance.

Results: The mean age (± standard deviation) was 74.1 (± 6.7) years, and 47.5% of patients had osteoarthritis in both knees. Moderate pain was reported by 45% of patients when they walked on a flat plane and 40% when they were seated or lying down; 55% had severe or very severe pain when climbing or descending stairs; 50% reported moderate joint stiffness after sitting, lying, or resting; and 65% reported moderate or little stiffness after waking. In physical function, 60% of patients had moderate or severe difficulty in descending stairs and 67.5%, when climbing stairs; 60% reported severe or very severe difficulty in getting in and out of the car, and 70%, when performing strenuous housework. The correlation with WHOQOL-OLD and WOMAC was negative and not significant except for autonomy, which was significant. Sedentary and elderly women who used walking aid devices had worse WOMAC functional capacity, but this finding was not statistically significant. In WHOQOL-OLD, volunteers scored higher on social participation and engagement in physical activity on autonomy, which was statistically significant compared with the nonvoluntary and sedentary domains, respectively.

Conclusion: It is possible to have a good quality of life even with functional impairment from knee osteoarthritis.