Relationship between Optimism, Self-Efficacy and Quality of Life: A Cross-Sectional Study in Elderly People with Knee Osteoarthritis.

Background: Due to the presence of numerous problems in osteoarthritis, e.g., the presence of one or more chronic diseases, reduced self-esteem and reduced ability to cope, patients must undertake readaptation activities. In such circumstances, resources that are necessary for optimal adaptation become of particular importance. This cross-sectional study aimed to assess the impact of behavioral resources, namely self-efficacy and optimism, on quality of life perception in early-old-age patients with knee osteoarthritis.

Methods: An anonymous survey was conducted using recognized research tools: the Index of Severity for Knee Disease, Life Orientation Test, General Self-Efficacy Scale and World Health Organization Quality of Life BEFF. The study involved 300 people aged between 60 and 75 years old, including 150 patients diagnosed with gonarthrosis and 150 people without diagnosed joint and muscular diseases of the lower limbs. Non-parametric tests (e.g., Mann-Whitney U test, Kruskal-Wallis test, Spearman's correlation coefficient) were used for the statistical analysis of the results, assuming a significance level of < 0.05.

Results: The level of the examined personal resources was significantly lower in the group of people with gonarthrosis ( < 0.001), among whom low self-efficacy and a tendency toward pessimism prevailed. The results in terms of the level of lower limb joints impairment among the respondents correlated significantly and negatively with self-efficacy (r = -0.239; = 0.003) and dispositional optimism (r = -0.318; < 0.001). A higher level of the studied psychosocial resources led to a more favorable assessment of quality of life ( < 0.001) and own health ( < 0.001). In addition, a higher sense of self-competence was associated with better quality of life in the psychological ( = 0.044), social ( < 0.001) and environmental ( < 0.001) domains, while a tendency toward optimism was associated with higher quality of life perception in the social domain ( < 0.001).

Conclusions: It would seem to be reasonable to introduce a routine diagnosis, assessing the level of personal capabilities of elderly people with knee osteoarthritis, which may have a beneficial effect on their perception of their quality of life and their own health.