Photo Credit: TefiM

The following is a summary of “Prevalence and Factors Associated with High Impact Chronic Pain in Knee Osteoarthritis: the Johnston County Health Study,” published in the September 2024 issue of Pain by George et al. 

Pain intensity and severity in knee osteoarthritis (KOA) and a lack of understanding of the characteristics of high-impact chronic pain (HICP) with KOA differ widely.  

Researchers conducted a retrospective study to investigate the occurrence of HICP in individuals with radiographic evidence of KOA and to assess patient-level factors linked with HICP.   

They used the Johnston County Health Study (JoCoHS) data to compare individuals with and without HICP and considered sociodemographic factors, clinical factors, healthcare use, and psychosocial distress while HICP status was categorized using PROMIS Pain Interference (PI) and Physical Function (PF) measures.  

The results showed 15.5% (48/310) of participants had HICP using the PROMIS-PI cutoff score, while 21.2% (66/310) had HICP using the PROMIS-PF cutoff score. Multivariable analyses showed that HICP was invariably indicated by elevated kinesiophobia and somatization regardless of the PROMIS measure used for HICP status. However, HICP was not represented by sociodemographic and clinical variables, as it depended on the PROMIS measures.  

They concluded that these findings could be used to develop intervention approaches specific to individuals with KOA and to inform future investigations of sociodemographic and clinical factors associated with HICP. 

Source: jpain.org/article/S1526-5900(24)00649-7/abstract