Prioritising OA: the impact on patients
Osteoarthritis is associated with many negative consequences for patients, the population and society. Not least, osteoarthritis is consistently found to have a negative impact on patients’ quality of life. There are multiple contributors to this, including pain, reduced ability to function, low mood and fatigue. Further, misconceptions about osteoarthritis exist, for example that pain is an indicator of damage being caused, can create anxiety among patients when they try and self-manage the condition as exercise-related pain is common. Another myth is that some patients believe that osteoarthritis will inevitably worsen, our evidence suggests this is inaccurate, however, it can undermine efforts to support self-management of the condition.
References and Further Reading
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Arthritis Research UK 2013. OA in general practice. http://www.arthritisresearchuk.org/arthritis-information/data-and-statistics/~/media/EFAEFCE432734F3AA5FB1C64329E02D1.ashx
Arthritis Research UK 2017. Musculoskeletal conditions and multimorbidity. https://www.arthritisresearchuk.org/policy-and-public-affairs/policy-reports/multimorbidity.aspx
Cimmino et al. Clinical presentation of osteoarthritis in general practice: determinants of pain in Italian patients in the AMICA study. Semin Arthrit Rheum. 2005; 35(1 Suppl 1): 17-23. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0049017205000351?via%3Dihub
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Neogi T. The epidemiology and impact of pain in osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis Cartilage. 2013;21(9):1145-53. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/23973124/
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Power et al. Fatigue in osteoarthritis: a qualitative study. BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2008;9:63 https://bmcmusculoskeletdisord.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-2474-9-63
Sale et al. The relationship between disease symptoms, life events, coping and treatment, and depression among older adults with osteoarthritis. J Rheumatol. 2008:35(2):335-42. http://www.jrheum.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=18203312