title: Income and patient-reported outcomes (PROs) after primary total knee arthroplasty.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  To assess whether income is associated with patient-reported outcomes (PROs) after primary total knee arthroplasty (TKA).
  
  
  METHODS
  We used prospectively collected data from the Mayo Clinic Total Joint Registry to assess the association of income with index knee functional improvement, moderate to severe pain and moderate to severe activity limitation at 2-year and 5-year follow-up after primary TKA using multivariable-adjusted logistic regression analyses.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 7, 139 primary TKAs at 2 years and 4, 234 at 5 years. In multivariable-adjusted analyses, at 2-year follow-up, compared to income > US$45, 000, lower incomes of ≤ US$35, 000 and > US$35, 000 to 45, 000 were associated (1) significantly with moderate to severe pain with an odds ratio (OR) 0.61 (95% CI 0.40 to 0.94) (P = 0.02) and 0.68 (95% CI 0.49 to 0.94) (P = 0.02); and (2) trended towards significance for moderate to severe activity limitation with OR 0.78 (95% CI 0.60 to 1.02) (P = 0.07) and no significant association with OR 0.96 (95% CI 0.78 to 1.20) (P = 0.75), respectively. At 5 years, odds were not statistically significantly different by income, although numerically they favored lower income. In multivariable-adjusted analyses, overall improvement in knee function was rated as 'better' slightly more often at 2 years by patients with income in the ≤ US$35, 000 range compared to patients with income > US$45, 000, with an OR 1.9 (95% CI 1.0 to 3.6) (P = 0.06).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We found that patients with lower income had better pain outcomes compared to patients with higher income. There was more improvement in knee function, and a trend towards less overall activity limitation after primary TKA in lower income patients compared to those with higher incomes. Insights into mediators of these relationships need to be investigated to understand how income influences outcomes after TKA.
authors.affiliation: Medicine Service and Center for Surgical Medical Acute are Research and Transitions (C-SMART), Birmingham VA Medical Center, 700 19th Street South Birmingham, AL 35233, USA. jasvinder.md@gmail.com
authors.forename: Jasvinder A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: David G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Lewallen
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D019645:Arthroplasty, Replacement, Knee; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014481:United States