Osteoarthritis of the knee among Saudi Arabian security forces personnel

Abstract

The prevalence and pattern of osteoarthritis of the knee and its association with obesity among security forces personnel was investigated. A single survey with a control group was done at the Mobile Hospital, Ministry of Interior, Makkah Al Mukarramah. One hundred twenty-five patients presenting to the orthopedic clinic with painful knees of at least 12 months duration gave detailed histories and were treated with bi-planar conventional radiography; they were matched with a similar number from the clinics of internal medicine without painful knees. One hundred three patients (82.4%) with 126 painful knees had various degrees of osteoarthritis. The mean age was 41 and 41.76 years for the patient and control group, respectively. The medial tibio-femoral and patello-femoral compartment were involved in 116 cases (92%). Fifty-nine knees (46.8%) had mild, 46 (36.5%) had moderate, and 21 (16.6%) had severe osteoarthritis changes. There were statistically significant differences between the two groups for weight and Quetelet index of body mass (p < 0.047 and < 0.0001). In the study group, the mean Quetelet body index was 31.6638 kg/m2, and in the control group it was 28.5633 kg/m2. The prevalence of osteoarthritis among the security forces personnel was 1.19%. The medial and patello-femoral compartment was affected in the majority of cases, and obesity was confirmed as one of the important causes of osteoarthritis in the Saudi Arabian population.