Prevalence of Self-disclosed Knee Trouble and Use of Treatments Among Elderly Individuals

Active, not recruiting

• Conditions: Complementary Therapies; Pain; Knee Osteoarthritis; Survey, Family Life
• Interventions: Other: Survey about knee pain and treatment

• Registration Number: NCT03472300
• Lead Sponsor: Frederiksberg University Hospital

Brief Summary

Although knee pain is prevalent among community-dwelling older adults, little is known about how people in general handle their pain. We will conduct a survey to explore how knee pain affects people's lives and which treatments or self-management strategies they have chosen (or are being offered), and how these interact concerning pain reduction and maintenance of function.

Detailed Description

Although knee pain is prevalent among community-dwelling older adults and frequently leads to consultation in primary care, little is known about how people in general manage their knee pain.

Treatments of knee osteoarthritis include a variety of non-pharmaceutical, medical, and surgical interventions with highly individual and inconsistent results and with the possible exception of a longer lasting weight reduction, none of the non-surgical treatments have been able to demonstrate long-lasting effect on pain or disability.

It is well recognised that patient participation in handling of disease creates better compliance and satisfaction with pharmacological treatment.

Another option for taking active part in self-management is the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). despite their popularity and effect, there is currently no overview of the actual extent of CAMs used for knee pain and disability at a population level, and most CAMs remain to be studied scientifically for efficacy.

The incidence of knee OA shows a steep increase at age above 60 years. Furthermore, after this age an increasing prevalence of disablement to knee trouble is encountered. To prevent this development, measures must be sought to alter the course of knee OA.

By asking people about how knee pain affects their life, which treatments or self-management strategies they have chosen (or are being offered), and how these interact for the reduction of pain and maintenance of function, new knowledge will be gained about the preferences and perceived effectiveness of treatments at large. The information gained will enable the prioritising of research on interventions to be tested and will align this with the primary concerns and interests of the population. This will subsequently lead to better guidance of patients by the health care providers, and will aid decision makers in choosing feasible health care policies and strategies.

Study Timeline

• Study First Submitted: 2018-03-13
• Study First Submitted QC: 2018-03-20
• Study First Posted: 2018-03-21
• Study Start: 2018-09-05
• Status Verified: 2024-02
• Last Update Submitted: 2025-02-25
• Last Update Posted: 2025-02-27
• Primary Completion: 2028-10-21
• Study Completion: 2028-10-21

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 9600

Inclusion Criteria

• Between 60-69 years of age
• Citizen in the Community of Frederiksberg

Exclusion Criteria

• No formal exclusion criteria but unability to understand/answer our questionnaire is per se an exclusion criteria

Study & Design

• Study Type: OBSERVATIONAL
• Study Design: Not specified

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Frederiksberg Citizens	Survey about knee pain and treatment	All citizen in the Frederiksberg Community aged 60-69

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Self-disclosed knee trouble/pain	1 Year	Population incidence of self-disclosed knee trouble/pain

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
EQ-5D	Annually for 10 years	Actual EQ-5D score and scores over time (all respondents)
Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS)	Annually for 10 years	Actual KOOS score and scores over time (respondents who report having knee pain)
Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ-B)	Annually for 10 years	Actual IPQ-B score and scores over time (respondents who report having knee pain). Generic questionnaire developed to measure illness perception. The IPQ-B contains eight items and one causal scale. Items 1-8 are rated using a 0-to-10 response scale, item 9 is a memo field. Five of the items assess cognitive illness representations: consequences (Item 1), timeline (Item 2), personal control (Item 3), treatment control (Item 4), and identity (Item 5). Two of the items assess emotional representations: concern (Item 6) and emotions (Item 8). One item assesses illness comprehensibility (Item 7).; A low score on items number 1,2,5,6 and 8 indicates that the illness is perceived as benign while a low score on the items 3, 4 and 7 indicates that the illness is perceived as threatening. By reversing these three items it is possible to compute an overall score. A higher score reflects a more threatening view of the illness.
Treatments of all kinds	Annually for 10 years	To estimate the use of treatments of all kinds (both in the "established" health care system and as self-management), including use of non-pharmacological treatments
Self-disclosed knee trouble/pain	Annually for 10 years	Population incidence of self-disclosed knee trouble/pain
Influence of treatments (longitudinal)	Annually for 10 years	Influence of treatments and their combination on use of health care system including surgical procedures.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

the Parker Institute, Bispebjerg-Frederiksberg Hospital; 🇩🇰 Frederiksberg, Danmark, Denmark