Purpose: To examine the relationship between baseline total knee arthroplasty (TKA) status and patient-reported, knee-related quality of life (QoL) over a 4-year follow-up relative to no knee osteoarthritis (OA).
Patients and methods: Data from the Osteoarthritis Initiative were included, comprising 4,674 adults aged 45-79 years at baseline. Patients were categorized into four groups: no knee OA (n=3,711), non-TKA (n=902), pre-TKA (n=36), and post-TKA (n=25). QoL was measured using the Knee Injury Osteoarthritis Outcome Score-QoL subscale. General linear mixed models were used for the relationship between TKA and QoL.
Results: After adjusting for covariates, a reduced QoL was noted for patients in the non-TKA (mean [standard error], -13.97 [0.73]; P<0.0001), pre-TKA (-21.34 [3.57]; P<0.0001), and post-TKA (-9.68 [3.94]; P=0.0143) groups compared with the no knee OA group. QoL in the non-TKA group also decreased over time (-0.16 [0.07]; P=0.226).
Conclusion: Non-, pre-, and post-TKA status is associated with a lower QoL.
Keywords: arthroplasty; knee; osteoarthritis; quality of life.