Obesity Lowers the Age for Knee Replacements

Obesity increases the risk of having a knee replacement at a younger age, especially among women, reveals a new study.

More than half of Australians who underwent knee replacement for osteoarthritis were obese.

Knee Replacement
Make sprinting a possibility! Relieve chronic arthritic pain by having a knee replacement done at affordable prices. Check out our list of world-class hospitals.

‘Annually, more than 161,000 knee replacements will be conducted among Australians by 2030. So, losing weight can be a better preventive measure. ’

Tweet it Now

A study by The University of Queensland Rural Clinical School (UQRCS) compared data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ (ABS) 2017–18 National Health Survey with the Australian Orthopaedic Association National Joint Replacement Registry.

Researchers found that of the 56,217 patients who underwent a knee replacement for osteoarthritis (OA), 57.7% were obese.

UQRCS Head of Research, Assoc. Prof. Srinivas Kondalsamy-Chennakesavan said that the risk of knee replacement for OA was relative to a person’s body mass index (BMI).

Certain Jobs can Put You at Increased Risk of Knee Osteoarthritis
Heavy physically demanding occupations and occupational activities can increase the risk of knee osteoarthritis (OA). Agriculture workers, construction workers, miners, service workers, houseworkers and cleaners are at increased risk.

“Obese women aged 55–64 years were up to 17.3 times more likely to undergo a knee replacement than their healthy weight counterparts, while obese men in the same age group were up to 5.8 times more likely,” he said.

“Obese patients with the highest BMI ratio were also seven years younger on average when they had a knee replacement, compared to normal-weight individuals.”

Quit Smoking Prior To Joint Replacement Surgeries: Get Better Outcomes
Fewer surgical complications were reported in smokers who attended a smoking cessation program prior to their knee or hip replacement surgery.

Around 2.2 million Australians have OA and nearly a-third of adults are obese, according to the ABS.

Lead investigator, Dr. Chris Wall said that weight loss was an important step to improving outcomes for individuals and Australia’s health system.

Wearing Knee Braces can Greatly Reduce Knee Cap Osteoarthritis
Those suffering from osteoarthritis of the kneecap will benefit immensely by wearing a knee brace, says study.

“Modest weight loss has been found to effectively reduce knee OA symptoms, and obese patients who maintained a 10% body weight loss experienced significant improvement in pain and function,” Dr. Wall said.

“By 2030, it’s expected more than 161 thousand knee replacements will be conducted annually.”

“Urgent action is needed at a national level to change our approach towards reducing obesity or Australia may face a growing burden of revision knee replacement in the future.”

This study was conducted in collaboration with Prof. Richard de Steiger, Prof. Christopher Vertullo, Dr. James Stoney, Prof. Stephen Graves, and Ms. Michelle Lorimer.

Source-Eurekalert