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Rate of joint replacement procedures increase faster than UK population

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MANCHESTER — Although total hip and total knee arthroplasty cases have increased during the past decade, researchers from the United Kingdom said this increase is not because of a change in functional scores measured preoperatively.

“There has been an increase in the incidence of total hip and total knee replacements over a 10-year period and that is increasing relative to the local population,” Lucy Bailey, of the North Hampshire Hospital in Basingstoke, United Kingdom, stated in her presentation. “There is no change in the average age of the patient, and no change in the preoperative functional scores.”

 

Lucy Bailey

Bailey’s results were presented at the British Orthopaedic Association Congress 2012, here.

She and colleagues gathered population data from national statistics and compared them to the number of joint replacement procedures performed in District General Hospitals from 2000 and 2009. While the number of joint replacement procedures increased beyond the increase in the local population, there was no significant difference in age and preoperative Oxford and WOMAC scores, Bailey said.

Bailey suggested an increase in obesity rates during the past decade could be partly responsible, in addition to changes in lifestyle and patient expectations.

“There [are] definitely a lot of patients who live full, active lifestyles and that may be leading them to seek attention for their osteoarthritis,” Bailey said.

Reference:

Price M, Bailey L, Bryan-Evans T, et al. Increasing rates of lower limb arthroplasty are not due to a change in preoperative functioning status. A 10-year DGH based prospective cohort study. Paper #O212. Presented at the British Orthopaedic Association Congress 2012. Sept. 11-14. Manchester.