Association between pain, radiographic severity, and centrally-mediated symptoms in women with knee osteoarthritis.
OBJECTIVE
To examine the relationship between pain, radiographic severity, and a common set of co-occurring centrally-mediated symptoms (fatigue, sleep quality, and depression) in women with knee osteoarthritis.


METHODS
Participants underwent knee radiographs, and had repeated assessments of pain severity and other centrally-mediated symptoms during a 5-day home monitoring period. To examine associations between pain severity (the average of pain over the home monitoring period), measures of osteoarthritis radiographic severity (Kellgren/Lawrence grade, minimum joint space width), centrally-mediated symptoms, and demographics (age) were used. Symptoms of fatigue, sleep efficiency, and depression were used in a composite measure representing centrally-mediated symptoms.


RESULTS
Using a series of linear regression models in which each variable was entered hierarchically (n = 54), the final model showed that 27% of the variance in pain severity was explained by age, radiographic severity, and centrally-mediated symptoms. Centrally-mediated symptoms explained an additional 10% of the variance in pain severity after the other 2 variables were entered.


CONCLUSIONS
Both radiographic severity and centrally-mediated symptoms were independently and significantly associated with pain severity in women with knee osteoarthritis. In addition to more severe radiographic features, women with higher centrally-mediated symptoms had greater pain severity. Treatments for women with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis may be optimized by addressing both peripheral and central sources of pain.
VA Ann Arbor Health Care System and University of Michigan, USA. sumurphy@umich.edu
Susan L
SL
Murphy
Angela K
AK
Lyden
Kristine
K
Phillips
Daniel J
DJ
Clauw
David A
DA
Williams
D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D018771:Arthralgia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005221:Fatigue / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology; D016014:Linear Models; D008824:Michigan; D008875:Middle Aged; D020370:Osteoarthritis, Knee / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D010147:Pain Measurement; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011859:Radiography; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012890:Sleep; D013997:Time Factors