Risk Assessment of Osteoarthritis Among Geriatric Population in Perambalur District Using the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index and Katz Index of Independence in Activities of Daily Living: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative joint disease that occurs resulting from tear and progressive loss of articular cartilage. It is one of the leading causes of disability in elderly people. This study aims to assess the risk of OA and the ability to perform activities of daily living (ADL) independently among the geriatric population using the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC) scale and Katz Index of Independence in Activities of Daily Living (Katz ADL) scale, respectively. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among the geriatric population in Perambalur district, Tamil Nadu from November 2022 to January 2023. Around 415 geriatric populations above 60 years of age were included by using a simple random sampling method. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect sociodemographic profiles, personal and medical details, OA risk (WOMAC), and ADL (Katz ADL scale). Descriptive statistics and the chi-square test were used to investigate the relationship between sociodemographic characteristics and the Katz ADL scale and the WOMAC index score for assessing OA risk. Results: The mean age of participants was 69.62 ± 6.86 years. The mean ± SD score for the WOMAC scale and the Katz ADL scale among the geriatric population was 20.997 ± 14.69 and 4.821 ± 2.37, respectively. The OA risk among the geriatric population using the WOMAC scale was low in 98 (23.6%), moderate in 216 (52%), and high risk in 101 (24.3%) participants. Using the Katz ADL scale, 332 (80%) participants were found to be independent and 83 (20%) were dependent. The high-risk factors for developing OA were age ≥ 70 years, female sex, living in a rural area, employment status, Muslim religion, the habit of betel nut chewing, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, thyroid diseases, family history of knee OA, history of previous surgery, and ADL, significantly associated with WOMAC (p < 0.05). Conclusion: As per the WOMAC scale, approximately 24.3% of the geriatric population is at high risk of developing OA and 20% of them are dependent on performing ADL as assessed using the Katz ADL scale. The WOMAC and Katz ADL scales are simple questionnaire-based screening tools used to detect high-risk individuals for OA at an early stage in the geriatric population.