Effect of morbid obesity on patient-reported outcomes in total joint arthroplasty: a minimum of 1-year follow-up

• Main Authors: Mohamad J. Halawi, MD, Christian Gronbeck, BS, Lawrence Savoy, BS, Mark P. Cote, DPT
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2019-12-01
• Series: Arthroplasty Today
• Online Access: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352344119301062

The objective of this study is to explore the effect of morbid obesity on patient-reported outcomes in primary total joint arthroplasty. We retrospectively reviewed 755 primary total joint arthroplasty cases with a minimum of 1-year follow-up. Two groups were compared: (1) patients with BMI < 40 and (2) those with BMI ≥ 40. The primary outcome was the difference in Short Form-12 physical component summary, Short Form-12 mental component summary, Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index, and patient satisfaction. Multivariate analyses were performed to control for potential confounding factors. 37 patients (5%) were morbidly obese. Morbidly obese patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty had significantly lower net gains in their Short Form-12 physical component summary (P = .008), Short Form-12 mental component summary (P = .049), and Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (P = .009) in the first 6 months only. For total hip arthroplasty, morbid obesity did not affect any of the outcomes measured (P > .05). There was also no difference in patient satisfaction rates between the two groups (P = .401 and .143 for total hip arthroplasty and total knee arthroplasty, respectively). The impact of morbid obesity on patient-reported outcomes appears to be limited to total knee arthroplasty only in the initial 6 months after surgery. Keywords: Morbid obesity, Arthroplasty, Patient-reported outcomes, Satisfaction, Hip, Knee