Demographic Correlates and Risk Factors of Primary Osteoarthritis Among rural Dwellers

Abstract

Primary osteoarthritis is a complex destructive and slowly progressive disorders of diathrodial joints. The pathological end result is loss of articular cartilage characterized by joint pains, stiffness, deformity and loss of functions with grave impact on socioeconomic status and quality of life.  We carried out a cross sectional study of 82 attendees of a tertiary hospital  in a rural district of Nigeria diagnosed of  primary osteoarthritis. Successive attendees who met the inclusion criteria were recruited based on clinical and radiological diagnosis of primary osteoarthritis. We administered structured questionnaire to collect data on patient’s demographics, biometrics, Kellgren and Lawrence grade of the radiograph and body mass index. Data were analyzed using SPSS software. We found a preponderance of females with a male to female ration of 1:2 and 68% knee joint affectation. Fifty-nine respondents (72%) had only primary or informal level of education, this reflects the type of work they do. We found no statistically significant correlation between obesity and Kellgren-Lawrence OA radiographic grade nor between the affected joint and body mass index. Domestic activities requiring  kneeling, bending and crawling commonly  engaged by  the rural women in addition to the anatomical variation in Q angle of the female knee predisposes them to primary osteoarthritis. Currently, there is no approved  disease modifying drugs for osteoarthritis, efforts at prevention of osteoarthritis in rural women must be geared at mechanizing domestic activities to reduce the incidence of OA among rural women .