This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Younger age linked to improved OA knee pain after bariatric surgery
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
Patients with knee osteoarthritis who were younger, as well as those without prior knee injury, at the time they underwent laparoscopic gastric band surgery reported more pain relief following the procedure, according to findings published in Seminars in Arthritis and Rheumatism.
In addition, the researchers noted that patients who lost more weight following bariatric surgery also demonstrated more dramatic improvements in knee pain.
“This study was a helpful indicator that patients who lose large amounts of weight at an earlier age experience better relief from their knee osteoarthritis pain,” Jonathan Samuels, MD, of the New York University Langone Medical Center, told Healio Rheumatology.
To determine the predictors of knee OA pain improvement among patients who undergo laparoscopic gastric band surgery, the researchers reviewed bariatric records from the NYU Langone Medical Center from 2002 to 2015. They called 125 eligible patients who reported presurgery knee pain, asking them to rate on a 10-point scale their pain at the time before the surgery, 1 year following the procedure and at the time of study survey.
The patients were also asked whether they had any knee injuries or surgeries prior to the procedure, as well as the presence of OA in other joints and OA family history. Of the 125 eligible patients, 120 underwent laparoscopic gastric band surgery — three had received a sleeve gastrectomy and two had gastric bypass surgery.
According to the researchers, of the 120 eligible patients with laparoscopic gastric band surgery, there was no correlation between presurgery BMI and the reduction in knee pain after 1 year. However, patients with the greatest reductions in BMI demonstrated the most knee pain improvement (P = .043). In addition, the researchers found significantly more pain reduction among patients who were younger at the time of surgery (P = .009). Although a history of prior knee injury was not a significantly linked to improved knee pain, patients with prior knee injuries demonstrated less improvement than those without previous injury (P = .044). Patients with multifocal OA also demonstrated less improvement than those with OA only in the knee (P = .001).
“For obese patients with persistent and severe knee pain, weight loss surgery should be considered as a treatment option regardless of their age, but even more so in younger patients,” Samuels said. “Patients who lost more weight in the study appeared to have more dramatic improvement of their knee pain.” – by Jason Laday
Disclosure: Samuels reports no relevant financial disclosures. See the full study for additional researchers’ disclosures.
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts