A Study on the Physical Activities, Mental Health, and Health-Related Quality of Life of Osteoarthritis Patients

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to investigate the physical activities, mental health, and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of osteoarthritis patients. METHODS: This study was conducted using data from the first year of the 7(th) Korea National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey. There were 8,150 participants included in the survey, and 665 participants had been diagnosed with osteoarthritis. This study analyzed the measurements of physical activities, depression, and HRQOL in participants with osteoarthritis. RESULTS: The mean age of the participants was 67 ± 9.9 years and 83.1% were female. Participants rarely engaged in work-related physical activity, and engaged in leisure-related physical activities infrequently. Most of the participants (85.9%) did not do regular exercise, but 1/3 of the participants walked for over 10 minutes a day. “Pain/discomfort” had the least impact upon HRQOL, and among the depression subcategories, “difficult to sleep and tiredness” had the most impact. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that an adverse HRQOL score was statistically significantly associated with “location changes/physical activities” (p < 0. 01), “depression” (p < 0.001) and “age” (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Exercise programs should be in place which are manageable in everyday life for the elderly (> 65 years). Changes in daily routine so that patients become more active, should be supported by the family and community, together with assistance in managing psychological problems such as depression.