Relationship between pain, functional limitations, dependence, depression and osteoarthritis in older adults

Abstract

Introduction: Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is a prevalent pathology in older adults, with physical, social and psychological impacts that reduce their quality of life. Objective: Analyze the correlation between KOA in older individuals and biopsychosocial aspects such as pain, functional limitation, dependence, anxiety and depression. Methods: A systematic review of English and Portuguese articles published on the Cochrane Library, PUBMED/MEDLINE, SciELO and Web of Science databases between 2016 and 2021, selected according to inclusion and exclusion criteria. Results: After cross-checking specific to each database, studies were selected by reading the title (2,304), abstract (136) and full article (72), with 30 ultimately included based on the eligibility criteria. Conclusion: Knee osteoarthritis has a significant negative impact on patients’ lives and is correlated with pain, functional limitation, dependence, anxiety and depression, compromising interpersonal relationships, physical and mental status and causing disability due to chronic pain, making osteoarthritis (OA) a public health issue with a high financial, physical and emotional cost for patients.