title: Sex and body mass index correlate with Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index and quality of life scores in knee osteoarthritis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the associations of sex, body mass index (BMI), and age with knee osteoarthritis (OA) symptomatic severity.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional retrospective analysis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients completed the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) questionnaire and Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36). Data were acquired from a stored database of a private therapy center.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients (N=1487) with symptomatic knee OA were evaluated.
  
  
  METHODS
  Not applicable.
  
  
  METHODS
  WOMAC questionnaire and SF-36.
  
  
  RESULTS
  BMI correlated significantly with worse knee OA symptoms for all WOMAC and SF-36 subcategories (all P ≤.001). Age correlated significantly with worse symptoms only for WOMAC function and SF-36 physical functioning (P=.001 and P=.009, respectively). A significant difference across BMI quintiles was found for all WOMAC and SF-36 subcategories (all P ≤.01). Women showed worse knee OA symptoms in all WOMAC and SF-36 subcategories (all P ≤.001). There was a significant interaction of sex by BMI in WOMAC pain and WOMAC function (P=.01 and P=.02, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Based on the results of this analysis, it can be concluded that women and patients with a higher BMI with knee OA are at a greater risk for worse symptoms.
authors.affiliation: AposTherapy Research Group, Herzliya, Israel.
authors.forename: Avi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Elbaz
authors.forename: Eytan M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Debbi
authors.forename: Ganit
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Segal
authors.forename: Amir
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Haim
authors.forename: Nahum
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Halperin
authors.forename: Gabriel
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Agar
authors.forename: Amit
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mor
authors.forename: Ronen
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Debi
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D015992:Body Mass Index; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020370:Osteoarthritis, Knee / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D011788:Quality of Life; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires