Association of pain and frailty in older adults with Gonarthrosis referred to a university hospital in Türkiye

MethodsThis cross-sectional study was completed with 160 participants aged 65 years and older.The target population of the study consisted of patients and their relatives who were admitted to the orthopedics and traumatology outpatient clinic of a university hospital for examination, follow-up and treatment from 1 October 2021 to 31 January 2022.Purposive sampling method was used in the study.Elderly participants who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria of the study were included.Inclusion criteria: Being 65 years of age or older, not having a diagnosis of GA (For those to be included in the control group), having a diagnosis of stages III and IV GA according to the Kellgren-Lawrence classification criteria, and having the mental ability to understand and answer the questions asked.Exclusion criteria: Undergoing cancer treatment, having disabilities, such as limb amputation, stroke-related sequelae and inability to speak, undergoing surgery for an orthopedic problem in the last six months, and having an organic psycho-emotional disorder and/or a neurological degenerative disease.The participants were divided into three groups by orthopedics and traumatology specialists: Group 1 consisted of 50 patients diagnosed with grade III GA, Group 2 consisted of 50 patients diagnosed with grade IV GA, and Group 3 (Control group) was composed of 60 individuals without GA.The GA stage of the participants was determined using the Kellgren-Lawrence Gonarthrosis classification criterion.The researchers administered the scales to older adults who were referred by orthopedists from the beginning of the outpatient clinic examination to the end of the working day (09:00-17:00).Prior to the administration of the tools, the participants were informed of the purpose of the research and their verbal and written informed consent was obtained.The researchers read the items in the scales to the participants and the scales were filled in based on the responses of the participants.It took about 35-40 minutes for each participant to fill out the data collection forms. HighlightsWhat is current knowledge?Gonarthrosis is not only a physical disorder but also an important factor that increases frailty in elderly individuals.Therefore, pain management and controlling disease progression in this disease are of vital importance for the prevention and improvement of frailty. What is new here?The study reveals that gonarthrosis not only affects joint health but also worsens the general frailty status in elderly individuals.In particular, the finding that GA stage IV increases pain intensity by 3.260 times and that this situation explains 47.7% of the frailty level provides a new contribution to the existing knowledge in the literature.These findings emphasize that controlling the progression of gonarthrosis and pain management are of critical importance in reducing the risk of frailty in elderly individuals and indicate that clinical approaches in this area should be reconsidered.