¹Sura Salih, Ruqaya Mustafa, Noura Esam, Reem Ali, Nuha Yassir

¹Dubai Medical College

Background(s):  Osteoarthritis (OA) is a disease characterized by chronic degeneration of articular cartilage and subchondral bone and inflammation of the synovium, leading to pain and joint disability. The best-known risk factors for OA are increasing age and obesity. Public knowledge of this disease should be assessed as OA, given its high prevalence, which places a significant burden on patients’ daily activities and their overall quality of life.

Method(s): This cross-sectional study was conducted between September and November 2023 among the United Arab Emirates (UAE) population using an online survey form. The survey responses were then analyzed using the SPSS Statistics system (IBM Corp. IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows. Armonk, NY: IBM Corp).

Result(s): A total of 363 people participated in this study. The sample showed a high level of knowledge of the underlying mechanism of OA, with 233 (64.2%) correctly identifying the cause. In addition, most of the participants, 244 (67.2%), were aware that OA is a chronic disease, and 243 (66.9%) knew that it is not a rare disease. Moreover, 288 (79.6%) could identify that a high BMI is a major risk factor for OA. Total and partial joint replacement for advanced disease remain the mainstay of treatment. In this study, 241 (66.4%) participants knew that joint replacement surgery was the final option to relieve the symptoms of OA. The total knowledge level of the participants showed that only 74 (20.4%) had good knowledge, 91 (25.1%) had average knowledge, and a majority of 198 (54.5%) had poor knowledge. Our study showed that a higher level of education leads to a better understanding and awareness of OA, which is generally expected (p=0.019). In addition, trust in healthcare and study material as a source of information on the topic significantly impacts knowledge, in contrast to trust in relying on family, media, and personal history (p<0.001).

Conclusion(s): OA severely limits daily activities, and the prevalence of OA is anticipated to double in the next decade. In this study, we aimed to determine the level of public knowledge about knee OA. The results indicate that the level of knowledge among individuals aged 18 to 65 in the UAE is low. Accordingly, raising awareness among the public will result in early detection of the disease, clearing misconceptions, and controlling dangerous and unproven procedures for the treatment of OA.