Association between joint stiffness and health-related quality of life in community-dwelling older adults.

Objective: This study aimed to examine the association between joint stiffness and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in community-dwelling older adults.

Methods: Participants in this cross-sectional study were 530 Japanese community-dwelling older adults (mean age, 73.9 years; women, 64.3%). Joint stiffness was assessed at the neck, low back, shoulder, elbow, hand or wrist, hip, knee, and ankle or feet; the duration of joint stiffness was also evaluated. We assessed HRQOL using the Short Form-12 (SF-12) and EuroQOL-5 Dimension (EQ-5D) questionnaires. We calculated the physical component summary scores (PCS) and mental component summary scores (MCS) from SF-12 and the EQ-5D index from EQ-5D.

Results: The prevalence of joint stiffness was 54.0%. Joint stiffness at two or more sites and at each site had a meaningful impact on PCS. Joint stiffness that lasted for 30min or more was meaningfully associated with low PCS and EQ-5D scores (PCS, 30-60min: beta=-6.122, P<0.05; >60min: beta=-5.962, P<0.01; EQ-5D index, 30-60min: beta=-0.068, P<0.01; >60min: beta=-0.070, P<0.01). Further, joint stiffness that lasted over 60min extended over MCS (MCS, >60min: beta=-3.212, P<0.05).

Conclusions: Joint stiffness is associated with HRQOL. Assessing joint stiffness and intervention could be beneficial for HRQOL.