In a research conducted by Yughdtheswari Muniandy, Tan Xue Min, and Vinosh Kumar Purushothaman from the Faculty of Health Sciences, INTI International University in Nilai, it was revealed that the prevalence of knee osteoarthritis was greater in females as compared to males.
According to the study, osteoarthritis is the most widespread chronic degenerative musculoskeletal disease which leads to pain and physical disability in adult individuals. It is a disease that progresses over time in joints causing significant changes in the tissue architecture, its metabolism, and function. It commonly affects the joints of the hands and weight-bearing joints including knees, hips, feet, and spine .
Yughdtheswari, senior lecturer and Head of Programme at the faculty explained, “Osteoarthritis occurs when the cartilage that cushions the ends of bones in your joints gradually deteriorates. Cartilage is a firm, slippery tissue that enables nearly frictionless joint motion. Eventually, if the cartilage wears down completely, bone will rub on bone. Osteoarthritis has often been referred to as a wear and tear disease. Besides the breakdown of cartilage, it affects the entire joint causing changes in the bone and deterioration of the connective tissues that hold the joint together and attach muscle to bone.”
Apart from the pain and functional limitation, osteoarthritis also affects an individual’s psychological well-being which negatively affects the quality of life but in most cases, the symptoms can usually be managed by the patients.
“Although the damage to joints can’t be reversed, patients with osteoarthritis cope with its symptoms if they are guided well. Staying active, maintaining a healthy weight, and receiving certain treatments might slow progression of the disease and help improve pain and joint function amongst them,” shared Yughdtheswari.
However, osteoarthritis is not an equal-opportunity disorder; it’s more rampant in women. Among people with osteoarthritis, there are twice as many women as men, especially for those with arthritis in the knees and hands.
Yughdtheswari Muniandy and her team from the Faculty of Health Sciences, INTI International University, Nilai, revealed that the prevalence of knee osteoarthritis was greater in females as compared to males especially after the age of 55 when they enter their menopausal phase.
Yughdtheswari stated, “Knee osteoarthritis can be divided into two types, primary and secondary. Primary osteoarthritis is articular degeneration without any apparent underlying reason. Secondary osteoarthritis is the consequence of either an abnormal concentration of force across the joint as with post-traumatic causes or abnormal articular cartilage, such as rheumatoid arthritis.”
The study shows that the intensity of the clinical symptoms and rate of progression may vary for every individual. They typically become more severe, frequent, and debilitating over time.
“Common clinical symptoms include knee pain that is gradual in onset and worse with activity, knee stiffness and swelling, pain after prolonged sitting or resting, and pain that worsens over time. Treatment for knee osteoarthritis begins with conservative methods and progresses to surgical treatment options when conservative treatment fails,” said Yughdtheswari.
According to her, symptoms typically begin to appear in women in their 40’s and 50’s, and the disparity becomes even greater after age 55 when women enter their menopausal phase. She pointed out that this could be due to lower pain threshold and less tolerance to painful stimuli by females as compared to males. The reduce in estrogen production due to menopausal changes can further accelerate the process of degeneration in women.
The present study also demonstrated that most of its participants failed to achieve the guidelines of physical activities set by the World Health Organization (WHO), which is a minimum of 150 minutes of moderately intense physical activities per week or 75 minutes of vigorous physical activities per week achieving 600 Metabolic Equivalency of Task (MET) – minutes per week.
“It is disappointing that the prescribed amount of time for physical exercise was not reached by a large percentage of participants. Studies have reported that the lack of regular physical activities is one of the most predominant risk factors in deteriorating the functions of activities of daily living (ADL) in patients with osteoarthritis. It can also be interpreted as a pattern of avoidance for certain patients with osteoarthritis who are likely to delay physical activity in fear of escalating pain in the injured joint,” Yughdtheswari said, summing up her findings.
Concluding the research, Yughdtheswari and her team emphasized the importance of maintaining regular physical activities to minimize and prevent functional and mobility-related disabilities whilst reducing the likelihood of developing severe cardiovascular diseases, metabolic disorders, perception deficits, osteoporosis, and muscle weakness.