Prevalence of Osteoarthritis and Related Risk Factors in the Elderly: Data from the Fifth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES V), 2010~2012

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence of osteoarthritis as well as assess the risk factors associated with osteoarthritis in Koreans over 65 years using data from the Fifth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES V), 2010∼2012. Of the participants from KNHANES V, a total of 3,479 subjects were analyzed using SPSS statistics complex samples (Windows ver. 21.0). Osteoarthritis was more frequently found in female (32.5%) or rural (26.8%) groups than male (9.3%) or urban (20.3%) groups. Mean age of the osteoarthritis group was significantly higher than that of the normal group. Mean values of BMI and waist circumference were significantly higher in the osteoarthritis group than in the normal group, whereas height, fasting blood glucose, total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, triglyceride, hemo-globin, and hematocrit levels were not. Health-related quality of life (EQ-5D) was significantly higher in the normal group than in the osteoarthritis group. The results of multiple logistic regression showed that obesity and vitamin A/riboflavin intakes were significantly related to the prevalence of osteoarthritis, whereas smoking, alcohol intake, physical activity, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia, anemia, and diabetes were not. This study suggests that obesity and nutrient intakes were associated with osteoarthritis, whereas chronic diseases such as hyper-lipidemia, anemia, and diabetes as well as health habits were not. Prospective research of long-term control is needed to establish the effects of those factors on the osteoarthritis.