• Avi Elbaz, Eytan M Debbi, Ganit Segal, Amir Haim, Nahum Halperin, Gabriel Agar, Amit Mor, and Ronen Debi.
• AposTherapy Research Group, Herzliya, Israel.
• Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2011 Oct 1; 92 (10): 1618-23.

ObjectiveTo examine the associations of sex, body mass index (BMI), and age with knee osteoarthritis (OA) symptomatic severity.DesignA cross-sectional retrospective analysis.SettingPatients completed the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) questionnaire and Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36). Data were acquired from a stored database of a private therapy center.ParticipantsPatients (N=1487) with symptomatic knee OA were evaluated.InterventionsNot applicable.Main Outcome MeasuresWOMAC questionnaire and SF-36.ResultsBMI correlated significantly with worse knee OA symptoms for all WOMAC and SF-36 subcategories (all P ≤.001). Age correlated significantly with worse symptoms only for WOMAC function and SF-36 physical functioning (P=.001 and P=.009, respectively). A significant difference across BMI quintiles was found for all WOMAC and SF-36 subcategories (all P ≤.01). Women showed worse knee OA symptoms in all WOMAC and SF-36 subcategories (all P ≤.001). There was a significant interaction of sex by BMI in WOMAC pain and WOMAC function (P=.01 and P=.02, respectively).ConclusionsBased on the results of this analysis, it can be concluded that women and patients with a higher BMI with knee OA are at a greater risk for worse symptoms.Copyright © 2011 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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