Publication:

Interplay between psychological resilience and emotional burden in knee osteoarthritis: a cross-sectional analysis of pain perception and functional disability

Background Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a common cause of chronic pain and functional disability, frequently associated with psychological distress. Emotional burden, including depression and anxiety, may exacerbate symptoms, while psychological resilience may act as a protective factor.

Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among 108 patients aged 45–70 years with clinically diagnosed knee OA, according to EULAR diagnostic criteria. The mean age of patients was 55.92±0.8 years, and the mean BMI was 27.24±0.4 kg/m2. Emotional burden was assessed using the PHQ-9 and GAD-7, and resilience using the brief resilience scale. Functional disability and pain were evaluated using the WOMAC index. Pearson correlation analysis was performed.

Results Mean scores for depression, anxiety, and resilience were 8.97±5.93, 9.35±5.97, and 20.33±7.11, respectively. Depression showed no significant correlation with functional disability (r=0.04, p=0.69). Anxiety (r=-0.18, p=0.07) and resilience (r=-0.17, p=0.09) demonstrated weak inverse correlations with WOMAC scores.

Conclusions Although not statistically significant, consistent inverse trends suggest a potential role of psychological factors in functional outcomes, supporting a multidimensional approach to knee OA management, including psychological assessment and intervention.