Obesity and Overweight in Women with Knee Osteoarthritis Secondary to Menopause

Background: Knee osteoarthritis, a degenerative joint disease, causes pain and stiffness in the knee joint, especially in obese people. Obesity is a significant risk factor for knee osteoarthritis. Objective: To estimate the prevalence of obesity and overweight in post-menopausal women secondary to knee osteoarthritis. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted from January to August 2022. A sample of 223 participants was collected from Aziz Bhatti Shaheed hospital Gujrat, tertiary headquarters hospital Lalamusa & Kharian and National orthopedics hospital Gujrat. Non-probability convenient sampling technique was used to recruit women categorized according to the set criteria of body mass index and waist-to-hip circumference ratio. Anthropometric measurements were taken by using a weight machine and measuring tape. Data were analyzed by using SPSS version 24. For descriptive analysis, mean and standard deviations were calculated for quantitative variables whereas frequency and percentages were used for qualitative variables. Results: Results indicate that out of 223 individuals 52% of participants were overweight, 20.2% participants were obese and 27.8 % participants were of normal weight. The mean age of the participants was 64.2±7.66. Age group and family history of knee osteoarthritis are highly associated with the body mass index of the participants (p<0.001). Family history of knee osteoarthritis and waist-to-hip circumference ratio were significantly associated with each other (p<0.001). Conclusion: The prevalence of overweight women is high and the calculated prevalence of obesity in people with knee osteoarthritis is relatively low. These findings are related to the age group and family history of the condition. Thus, obesity and being overweight are major contributors to knee osteoarthritis.