Assessment of affective temperament in knee osteoarthritis patients and its effects on physical therapy response

Abstract

Objective: To determine the most common dominant affective temperament and its effects on the physical therapy outcomes in patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA). Material and Methods: One hundred and five primary knee OA patients referred with knee pain were assessed for eligibility. Eighty-six patients who met inclusion and exclusion criteria were included in this study. Physical therapy was applied once daily, five days a week, a total of 15 sessions to the both knees of the patients. Treatment response was evaluated by visual analog scale before and after the therapy. Patients were divided into two groups by treatment response: Group 1 (pain alleviation >50%) and, Group 2 (pain alleviation < 50%). Turkish version of the Temperament Evaluation of Memphis, Pisa, Paris and San Diego Auto questionnaire (TEMPS-A) scale was used to determine the dominant affective temperament. Results: The frequency of depressive, anxious, irritable, cyclothymic and hyperthymic temperaments were 18.6%, 17.4%, 5.8%, 3.5% and 0%, respectively. The physical therapy outcome was good in 59 patients (Group 1) whereas it was poor in 27 patients (Group 2). The most common dominant affective temperament was depressive temperament in both groups. Prevalence of dominant affective temperaments was not significantly different between Group 1 and Group 2. This study also showed that physical therapy outcome was not associated with dominant affective temperament. Conclusion: This study suggest that depressive and anxious temperaments are the most common dominant affective temperaments, and there appears to be no association between the pain alleviation by physical therapy and dominant affective temperament in knee OA patients. © 2011 by Türkiye Klinikleri.