Intensive physical activity following total hip arthroplasty increased the revision risk after 15 years: a cohort study of 973 patients from the Geneva Arthroplasty Register.

Background and purpose: Younger recipients of total hip arthroplasty (THA) highly prioritize returning to preoperative levels of physical activity (PA). Surgeons have tended to give cautious advice concerning high-impact sports participation, but there have been few long-term studies. The purpose of our study was to investigate the risk of revision arthroplasty in relation to postoperative PA levels.

Methods: Patients registered in the Geneva Arthroplasty Register (GAR) who had elective THA when they were aged < 65 years were studied. Postoperative PA was collected prospectively 5-yearly using the UCLA activity scale. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate associations between PA and risk of revision THA.

Results: Amongst 1,370 eligible subjects, median age at THA 58 years (interquartile range 51-61), UCLA scores were available for 973 (71%). During follow-up over 15 years, there were 79 revisions, giving a cumulative risk of 7.4% (95% confidence interval [CI] 5.8-9.4). After adjusting for covariates, we found an increased risk of revision for each unit increase in postoperative PA (HR 1.2, CI 1.1-1.4), and among people performing the most intensive PA (HR 2.7, CI 1.3-5.6) compared with those who were inactive.

Conclusion: The overall risk of revision was small but intensive and moderate PA may be associated with an increased risk of revision.