Five-Year Impact of Weight Loss on Knee Pain and Quality of Life in Obese Patients

BACKGROUND Studies on patients with obesity who lose a considerable amount of body fat show that the severity of knee pain and movement limitation is decreased. This study aimed to analyze the effects of weight loss on knee pain and quality of life in patients with obesity. MATERIAL AND METHODS The study included patients aged 18-65 years with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 kg/m² and above, who expressed knee pain in daily life routines and applied to the Obesity Center of Adana City Training and Research Hospital as of June 2018. The retrospective analysis included age, sex, weight, height, annual radiological imaging follow-up scores (Kellgren-Lawrence), visual analog scale (VAS) scores, EuroQol-5D (EQ-5D) scores, and Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC) scores of the patients throughout the 5-year follow-up period. RESULTS The mean age of the 89 patients was 50.3±10.5 years, and 82% were women. The initial BMI, EQ-5D, VAS, and WOMAC scores differed significantly from the scores at year 5 (P=0.0001). Receiver operating characteristic analysis showed the probability of reducing the progression of knee joint degeneration was 74% if the BMI reduction was greater than 13.3% over the 5-year follow-up period. CONCLUSIONS The overall interpretation of the results was that a 13.3% or greater reduction in BMI in the first year, despite an increase in the following years, triggered improvements in various aspects of pain and functionality scores, improved quality of life, and reduced KOA progression.