Mental health and quality of life of patients with osteoarthritis pain: The sixth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2013–2015)

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to investigate the association between mental health and quality of life of osteoarthritis (OA) patients according to the site of pain. DESIGN: Retrospective cross-sectional study PARTICIPANTS: Data of 22,948 participants of the sixth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted from 2013–2015 were used. OUTCOME MEASURES: Participants were asked if they had OA pain in the hip joint, knee joint, and lower back (yes/no) and whether they experienced anxiety or depression. The EQ-5D questionnaire was used to determine the quality of life of patients with hip, knee, and lower back OA. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed after adjusting. RESULTS: A total of 5,401 patients reported pain in the hip joint, knee joint, or lower back. The analysis showed significant relations between pain sites, mental health, and quality of life. First, more female patients with OA experienced stress and depression than males. Second, for males with OA, stress was reported in the order of: lower back > hip > knee, while pain and depression was reported in the order of: lower back > knee > hip (p < 0.05). For females with OA, stress was reported in the order of: knee > lower back > hip, while depression was reported in the order of: knee > lower back > hip. Third, considering quality of life, for males, hip joint pain had the greatest impact on quality of life and for females, knee joint pain had the largest impact (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: For patients with OA, the effect on the mental health and quality of life differed according to sex and sites of pain. Therefore, this study confirms that pain sites, sex, mental health, and quality of life are independent risk factors when determining OA pain.