Association between self-reported exercise adherence and quality of life of patients with knee osteoarthritis attending Rheumatology and Rehabilitation clinics in National Hospital of Sri Lanka

Background & Aim: Osteoarthritis is the world’s most common rheumatologic disease. Adherence to the prescribed exercises is beneficial to improve the quality of life (QOL) of patients with knee osteoarthritis, adherence often declines over time. The study was conducted to assess the association between self-reported exercise adherence (SREA) and the QOL of patients with knee osteoarthritis attending the Rheumatology and Rehabilitation clinics at the National Hospital of Sri Lanka (NHSL).
Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study recruited participants with knee osteoarthritis between the ages of 50-70 years, attending the Rheumatology and Rehabilitation clinics in NHSL. Participants were selected using simple random sampling according to the eligibility criteria of study. Demographic data were gathered using an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Medical Outcome Study Short Form-36 (SF-36) questionnaire was used to assess QOL and Exercise Adherence Rating Scale (EARS) was used to assess SREA. Descriptive statistics, Spearman correlation test and non-parametric chi-square test were used for data analysis in SPSS version 20.
Results: The study recruited 141 participants with knee osteoarthritis (22 male and 119 female), with a mean age of 57.39 (SD=5.56) years. Majority of the sample were unemployed (72.3%). Most of the participants experienced unsatisfactory exercise adherence (66%) and unsatisfactory QOL (62.4%). There was a statistically significant association between SREA and QOL with the chi-square test (p=0.029) and a weak positive correlation existed with spearman correlation test (p=0.031, r=0.182). The mean score of EARS was 31.16 (SD=8.8) and SF-36 questionnaire was 46.97 (SD=16.70).
Conclusions & Recommendations: The study found that most participants demonstrated unsatisfactory SREA, with QOL emerging as a significant concern. These findings suggest a potential association between SREA and QOL among patients with knee osteoarthritis. However, this relationship may be influenced by other factors, and causality cannot be established. Further longitudinal studies are recommended to better understand these relationships.