Background: The objective of this study was to determine whether individuals with hip osteoarthritis who undergo THA have higher HRQOL scores than those awaiting the procedure; An additional aim was to investigate associated factors exerting an impact on HRQOL.
Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted. Participants were divided into two groups: pre-THA and post-THA. Functional capacity was assessed using the Harris Hip Score, and HRQOL was measured using a validated and adapted version of the WOMAC questionnaire. A multivariate analysis of the WOMAC results was used to identify the main variables associated with HRQOL in both groups.
Results: The post-THA group had higher HRQOL scores (100.4 ± 88.5) than the pre-THA group (197.8 ± 54.1). The domains Pain (68.0 ± 19.0 versus 34.7 ± 30.8), Stiffness (61.2 ± 28.9 versus 29.9 ± 33.1), and Physical Activity (68.6 ± 16.1 versus 36.6 ± 30.2) also had higher scores in the post-THA group. Pain was the variable most frequently associated with the increase in post-THA HRQOL scores. Other variables such as occupation, time of diagnosis, joint function, and body weight also had an impact on the HRQOL of both groups.
Conclusions: 1. Individuals who underwent THA had higher scores for HRQOL compared to those still awaiting the procedure. 2. Pain was the variable most strongly associated with quality of life.
Keywords: arthroplasty; hip joint; quality of life.