Knowledge of knee osteoarthritis among general population in Aseer region

BACKGROUND: Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common articular disease of the developed country and cause of chronic disability, and may cause joint failure. OA is one of the most prevalent situation that gives rise to disability, especially in elderly population. AIM: To assess the knowledge of knee OA among general population in Aseer region. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in Aseer region including 1052 participants. The participants were included by visiting the public areas in different cities in Aseer region where many people of different social and economic level were available, and because of the the nature of Saudi community regarding home-to-home interviews. RESULTS: The research included 1052 participants from different areas in Aseer region. The ages of participants ranged from 17 to 80 years old, with a mean age of 38 ± 12 years old. Approximately 89.0% of the sampled population had good awareness regarding preventive measures of knee OA. The second highest awareness level was recorded for relieving the measures of knee OA as 84.1% of the sampled population recorded good level of knowledge. In general, 82.6% of the population had good awareness level regarding OA in total. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS: The current research revealed that the awareness of the general population in Aseer region regarding knee OA was more than satisfactory, especially for preventive measures, relieving measures, and its risk factors.