Age, radiographic severity, centrally-mediated symptoms partially explain pain severity variance
TUESDAY, Nov. 8 (HealthDay News) -- For women with osteoarthritis, age, radiographic severity, and centrally-mediated symptoms account for a considerable proportion of the variance of pain severity, according to a study published in the November issue of Arthritis Care & Research.
Susan L. Murphy, Sc.D., OTR/L, from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and colleagues examined the association between pain, radiographic severity, and co-occurring centrally-mediated symptoms (fatigue, sleep quality, and depression) in women with knee osteoarthritis. A total of 54 women underwent knee radiographs and were examined repeatedly during a five-day home monitoring period to assess pain severity and other centrally-mediated symptoms. A series of linear regression models were used to measure the association between pain severity (average over the home monitoring period), osteoarthritis radiographic severity (measured by Kellgren/Lawrence grade and minimum joint space width), centrally-mediated symptoms, and age.
The investigators found that when each variable was entered hierarchically, age, radiographic severity, and centrally-mediated symptoms explained 27 percent of the variance in pain severity in the final model. An additional 10 percent of the variance in pain severity was explained by centrally-mediated symptoms, after the other variables were entered into the models.
"Both radiographic severity and centrally-mediated symptoms were independently and significantly associated with pain severity in women with knee osteoarthritis," the authors write.
Several authors disclosed financial relationships with the pharmaceutical industry.
Abstract
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