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Impact of knee and low back pain on health-related quality of life in Japanese women: the Research on Osteoarthritis Against Disability (ROAD)

  • Original Article
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Modern Rheumatology

Abstract

Although knee and low back pain are major public health issues, little information is available on their impact on the quality of life (QOL). We have investigated the impact of knee and low back pain on the QOL in Japanese women by assessing the associations between knee pain and low back pain and various QOL domains using measures such as the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-8, EuroQOL, and the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index. From the 3,040 Japanese women participating in the Research on Osteoarthritis Against Disability (ROAD) study, we analyzed data on 1,369 women >40 years old (mean age 68.4 years). We further examined the associations of Kellgren–Lawrence (KL) grade at the knee and lumbar spine and the presence of vertebral fracture (VFx) with the magnitude of QOL loss in women with knee pain and low back pain, respectively. Knee pain and low back pain were found to be significantly associated with lower QOL scores among the women comprising the study cohort. In women with knee pain KL = 4, knee osteoarthritis was strongly associated with the magnitude of QOL loss. For women with low back pain, no significant associations were found between KL grade and magnitude of QOL loss, while there was a moderate association between the latter and VFx.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B20390182, C20591737, C20591774) for Young Scientists (A18689031) and for Exploratory Research (19659305) from the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, H17-Men-eki-009, H18-Choujyu-037, and H20-Choujyu-009 from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, Research Aid from the Japanese Orthopaedic Association, and Grant No. 166 from the Japan Orthopaedics and Traumatology Foundation. The authors wish to thank Dr. Anamizu and members of the Department of Orthopaedics, Mr. Kutsuma and other members of the Department of Radiology at Tokyo Metropolitan Geriatric Medical Center, Ms. Tomoko Takijiri and other members of the Public Office in Hidakagawa Town, and Ms. Tamako Tsutsumi, Ms. Kanami Maeda, and other members of the Public Office in Taiji Town for their assistance in locating and scheduling participants for examinations.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Clinical Motor System Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, 22nd Century Medical and Research Center, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8655, Japan

    Shigeyuki Muraki & Toru Akune

  2. Department of Joint Disease Research, Faculty of Medicine, 22nd Century Medical and Research Center, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

    Hiroyuki Oka & Noriko Yoshimura

  3. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Wakayama Medical University, Wakayama, Japan

    Yoshio En-yo, Munehito Yoshida & Akihiko Saika

  4. Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, Tokyo, Japan

    Takao Suzuki, Hideyo Yoshida, Hideaki Ishibashi, Fumiaki Tokimura & Seizo Yamamoto

  5. Department of Sensory and Motor System Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

    Kozo Nakamura & Hiroshi Kawaguchi

Authors
  1. Shigeyuki Muraki
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  2. Toru Akune
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  3. Hiroyuki Oka
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  7. Takao Suzuki
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  9. Hideaki Ishibashi
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  10. Fumiaki Tokimura
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  11. Seizo Yamamoto
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  12. Kozo Nakamura
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  13. Hiroshi Kawaguchi
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  14. Noriko Yoshimura
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Shigeyuki Muraki.

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Muraki, S., Akune, T., Oka, H. et al. Impact of knee and low back pain on health-related quality of life in Japanese women: the Research on Osteoarthritis Against Disability (ROAD). Mod Rheumatol 20, 444–451 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10165-010-0307-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10165-010-0307-5

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