Purpose: To compare the clinical outcomes in overweight women with those of a group of normal-weight women 4 to 11 years after arthroscopic debridement of the knee.
Methods: A questionnaire containing the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), the short form health survey SF-36, and a survey regarding satisfaction with surgery was mailed to 121 patients. Questionnaire data were supplemented by chart review.
Results: Ninety patients (74%) returned completed questionnaires. All scored significantly lower than age-matched normative data on all domains of the SF-36. The normal-weight group had better scores than the obese group, particularly in the physical functioning ( P =.01), role physical ( P =.05), mental health ( P =.11), and role emotional ( P =.11) domains. They were also more satisfied with their surgery ( P <.05), more likely to indicate that they would have the surgery again, and had fewer recurrences of knee pain ( P <.05).
Conclusions: Overweight women have poorer outcomes related to quality of life and satisfaction with surgery than normal-weight women.
Level of evidence: Level III, Case control study.