Osgood-Schlatter Disease Awareness and Prevalence Among Individuals Aged 10-25 in Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background Osgood-Schlatter Disease (OSD) is a skeletal pathology primarily affecting young adults. It is characterized by anterior knee pain and limited mobility due to repetitive quadriceps contractions. Severe cases can lead to chronic knee pain and tendinosis. This study investigates the prevalence, awareness, and impact of OSD among Saudi Arabian youth. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 275 participants aged 10-25 years. Participants completed a self-administered questionnaire for demographic details, the Knee and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS)-child scale for awareness and opinions, anthropometric measurements, and a physical examination of symptoms. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 27 (released 2020; IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA). Results The sample comprised 59.6% males (n = 164) and 40.4% females (n = 111), with 52.7% (n = 145) aged 10-15 years and 47.3% (n = 130) older than 15 years. The majority of participants reported pain attacks without pain in between (30.9%, or n = 85) or constant pain with slight fluctuations (26.2%, or n = 72). The KOOS subscales revealed moderate knee-related problems across all dimensions: Painful (M = 52.9, SD = 20.9), Difficulty With Daily Activity (M = 50.5, SD = 22.3), Difficulty During Exercise and Play (M = 49.4, SD = 23.9), Knee Problems (M = 58.0, SD = 19.2), and Impact on Quality of Life (M = 56.6, SD = 20.8). Females reported significantly worse outcomes than males in Painful (p = 0.005), Difficulty With Daily Activity (p = 0.001), Difficulty During Exercise and Play (p = 0.022), and Impact on Quality of Life (p = 0.037). No significant differences were found between age groups in any KOOS subscales. Conclusion These findings highlight the significant burden of OSD in terms of pain severity and functional limitations, and identify important gender differences in OSD outcomes, underscoring the need for targeted interventions to improve quality of life. These findings call for proactive clinical and community-based interventions to mitigate OSD's impact on Saudi youth, with special attention to females and active adolescents.