Volume 24, Issue 106, November - December, 2020

Risk Factors and Awareness about Knee Osteoarthritis among Secondary School Teachers

Huda Ghanim Hussien^1♦, Yousif Abdul Raheem²

¹Al-Mustansiria Primary Health Care Center, Ministry of Health, Baghdad, Iraq
²Department of Community and Family Medicine, Al-Kindy College, Baghdad University, Baghdad, Iraq

^♦Corresponding author
Huda Ghanim Hussien; Baghdad, Iraq; Email: Hayder.adnan2010@gmail.com

ABSTRACT

Objective: find out the prevalence of risk factors for knee osteoarthritis among secondary school teachers and to estimate their awareness about knee osteoarthritis and to investigate the association between awareness level and risk factors. Methods: A crosssectional survey carried out in 16 secondary schools in Baghdad from the first of March/2019, until the end of May/2019, targeting secondary school teachers from both genders. The data were collected by self-administered questionnaire filled by the teachers. Results: This study enrolled 300 teachers, 219 (73%) of them were 40 years and older, and 67.7% of them were females. The most prevalent risk factor among study sample for knee osteoarthritis was standing for more two hours/day. Total knee osteoarthritis awareness score was good among 167 (55.7%) teachers, and the prevention domain got the highest awareness score. Conclusions: High school teachers had good total awareness about knee osteoarthritis, with highest score in prevention domain and lowest in management domain. Standing > 2hours/day was the most common risk factor for knee osteoarthritis in secondary school teachers. Higher educational level, climbing 5 or more flights of stairs daily family history of knee osteoarthritis, and knee pain with ≥ 4 risk factors of knee OA increased the odds for better awareness about the disease.

Keywords: Knee, osteoarthritis, joint pain, awareness

Medical Science, 2020, 24(106), 4031-4039

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