Physiotherapy Program & Centre for Healthy Ageing & Wellness, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur 50300, Malaysia.
Department of Physical Rehabilitation Sciences, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, International Islamic University Malaysia, Pahang 25200, Malaysia.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Apr 4;18(7):3777. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18073777.
Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a prevalent chronic disorder in the older population. While timely management is important to minimize the consequences of knee OA, information on the utilization of healthcare services among this population remains limited. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to determine the healthcare utilization and its associated factors in older persons with knee OA. Cross-sectional data from 1073 participants aged 60 years and above from the Malaysian Elders Longitudinal Research (MELoR) study were included. The utilization rate of healthcare services was quantified. Factors related to the utilization of healthcare services were determined using logistic regression analysis. Healthcare utilization among participants with knee OA was significantly higher than those without knee OA ( < 0.01). Outpatient usage was higher ( < 0.01) in comparison to inpatient and pharmacotherapy. Being married and having an income were significantly associated with seeking outpatient care (OR: 11.136, 95% CI: 1.73-52.82, < 0.01) and pharmacotherapy (OR: 10.439, 95% CI: 1.187-91.812, < 0.05), while females were less likely to utilize inpatient care services (OR: 0.126, 95% CI: 0.021-0.746, < 0.05). The higher rate of healthcare utilization among older persons with knee OA indicates the increased healthcare needs of this population, who are commonly assumed to suffer from a benign disease.
膝关节骨关节炎（OA）是老年人中普遍存在的慢性疾病。虽然及时管理对于减轻膝关节 OA 的后果非常重要，但关于该人群利用医疗保健服务的信息仍然有限。因此，本研究的目的是确定膝关节 OA 老年人的医疗保健利用及其相关因素。本研究纳入了来自马来西亚老年人纵向研究（MELoR）的 1073 名 60 岁及以上参与者的横断面数据。量化了医疗保健服务的利用率。使用逻辑回归分析确定与医疗保健服务利用相关的因素。患有膝关节 OA 的参与者的医疗保健利用率明显高于没有膝关节 OA 的参与者（<0.01）。与住院和药物治疗相比，门诊使用率更高（<0.01）。已婚和有收入与寻求门诊护理（OR：11.136，95%CI：1.73-52.82，<0.01）和药物治疗（OR：10.439，95%CI：1.187-91.812，<0.05）显著相关，而女性接受住院治疗的可能性较小（OR：0.126，95%CI：0.021-0.746，<0.05）。膝关节 OA 老年人的医疗保健利用率较高，表明该人群的医疗保健需求增加，而通常认为该人群患有良性疾病。
