Correlation between Fear of fall, Physical Function And Psychological Health Among Obese And Non-Obese Older Adults Diagnosed With Knee Osteoarthritis

AIM: To compare the correlation between fear of fall, physical function and psychological health among obese and non-obese older adults with knee osteoarthritis. METHOD: The data was collected through convenient sampling having 120 participants of 60 obese and 60 non-obese older adults with knee OA, according to their BMI. Visual analogue scale was used for rating pain, Fall efficacy scale-International to measure concern on falling, WOMAC index for measuring physical function and Geriatric depression scale to screen depressive symptoms in participants. The test scores were calculated and tabulated for statistical analysis to find correlation between all variables in both the groups. RESULT: Independent t test was used to compare scores between obese and non-obese group. Pearson’s correlation was done to find correlation of scores in both groups. Results showed a significant difference between obese and non-obese group for all variables. In obese group, 36.67% had severe knee pain, 88.33% had high concern on falling, 45% had severe knee osteoarthritis potentially requiring joint replacement, and 10% of them showed severe depressive symptoms. Among non-obese group, 18.33% had severe knee pain, 86.67% had high concern on falling, and 23.33% had severe knee osteoarthritis potentially requiring joint replacement, and 3.33% of them showed severe depressive symptoms. Strong correlations between all variables were observed in both obese and non-obese group with obese group having higher correlation coefficient. CONCLUSION: This study concludes that because of the combined effect of ageing and obesity, obese group are prone to develop higher intensity of knee pain, concern on falling, decreased physical function and severe depressive symptoms. It was also observed that, both groups are prone to experience gradual development of these symptoms together with obese group being more vulnerable.