Prevalence of Self-disclosed Knee Trouble and Use of Treatments Among Elderly Individuals

Prevalence of Self-disclosed Knee Trouble and Use of Treatments Among Elderly Individuals From Frederiksberg Municipality - A Prospective Cohort Study

Although knee pain is prevalent among community-dwelling older adults, little is known about how people in general handle their pain. We will conduct a survey to explore how knee pain affects people's lives and which treatments or self-management strategies they have chosen (or are being offered), and how these interact concerning pain reduction and maintenance of function.

Study Overview

• Status: Active, not recruiting
• Conditions: Pain; Knee Osteoarthritis; Complementary Therapies; Survey, Family Life
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Survey about knee pain and treatment

Detailed Description

Although knee pain is prevalent among community-dwelling older adults and frequently leads to consultation in primary care, little is known about how people in general manage their knee pain.

Treatments of knee osteoarthritis include a variety of non-pharmaceutical, medical, and surgical interventions with highly individual and inconsistent results and with the possible exception of a longer lasting weight reduction, none of the non-surgical treatments have been able to demonstrate long-lasting effect on pain or disability.

It is well recognised that patient participation in handling of disease creates better compliance and satisfaction with pharmacological treatment.

Another option for taking active part in self-management is the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). despite their popularity and effect, there is currently no overview of the actual extent of CAMs used for knee pain and disability at a population level, and most CAMs remain to be studied scientifically for efficacy.

The incidence of knee OA shows a steep increase at age above 60 years. Furthermore, after this age an increasing prevalence of disablement to knee trouble is encountered. To prevent this development, measures must be sought to alter the course of knee OA.

By asking people about how knee pain affects their life, which treatments or self-management strategies they have chosen (or are being offered), and how these interact for the reduction of pain and maintenance of function, new knowledge will be gained about the preferences and perceived effectiveness of treatments at large. The information gained will enable the prioritising of research on interventions to be tested and will align this with the primary concerns and interests of the population. This will subsequently lead to better guidance of patients by the health care providers, and will aid decision makers in choosing feasible health care policies and strategies.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Estimated): 9600

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Denmark
  • Danmark
    • Frederiksberg, Danmark, Denmark, 2000
      • the Parker Institute, Bispebjerg-Frederiksberg Hospital

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 60 years to 69 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

The study population will comprise the sample of all elderly individuals 60-69 years old, living in the Frederiksberg municipality (central part of Copenhagen) Denmark

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Between 60-69 years of age
• Citizen in the Community of Frederiksberg

Exclusion Criteria:

• No formal exclusion criteria but unability to understand/answer our questionnaire is per se an exclusion criteria

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

1

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort	Intervention / Treatment
Frederiksberg Citizens; All citizen in the Frederiksberg Community aged 60-69	Other: Survey about knee pain and treatment; All citizens are surveyed to describe the prevalence of knee pain in a danish community.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Self-disclosed knee trouble/pain	Population incidence of self-disclosed knee trouble/pain	1 Year

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Self-disclosed knee trouble/pain	Population incidence of self-disclosed knee trouble/pain	Annually for 10 years
Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS)	Actual KOOS score and scores over time (respondents who report having knee pain)	Annually for 10 years
Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ-B)	Actual IPQ-B score and scores over time (respondents who report having knee pain). Generic questionnaire developed to measure illness perception. The IPQ-B contains eight items and one causal scale. Items 1-8 are rated using a 0-to-10 response scale, item 9 is a memo field. Five of the items assess cognitive illness representations: consequences (Item 1), timeline (Item 2), personal control (Item 3), treatment control (Item 4), and identity (Item 5). Two of the items assess emotional representations: concern (Item 6) and emotions (Item 8). One item assesses illness comprehensibility (Item 7). A low score on items number 1,2,5,6 and 8 indicates that the illness is perceived as benign while a low score on the items 3, 4 and 7 indicates that the illness is perceived as threatening. By reversing these three items it is possible to compute an overall score. A higher score reflects a more threatening view of the illness.	Annually for 10 years
EQ-5D	Actual EQ-5D score and scores over time (all respondents)	Annually for 10 years
Treatments of all kinds	To estimate the use of treatments of all kinds (both in the "established" health care system and as self-management), including use of non-pharmacological treatments	Annually for 10 years
Influence of treatments (longitudinal)	Influence of treatments and their combination on use of health care system including surgical procedures.	Annually for 10 years

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Frederiksberg University Hospital
• Investigators: Study Chair: Elisabeth Ginnerup, The Parker Institute

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Ginnerup-Nielsen EM, Henriksen M, Christensen R, Heitmann BL, Altman R, March L, Woolf A, Karlsen H, Bliddal H. Prevalence of self-reported knee symptoms and management strategies among elderly individuals from Frederiksberg municipality: protocol for a prospective and pragmatic Danish cohort study. BMJ Open. 2019 Sep 4;9(9):e028087. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2018-028087.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): September 5, 2018
• Primary Completion (Estimated): October 21, 2028
• Study Completion (Estimated): October 21, 2028

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: March 13, 2018
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 20, 2018
• First Posted (Actual): March 21, 2018

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): August 8, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 5, 2025
• Last Verified: August 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: pain; Survey; Knee Osteoarthritis; Complementary Therapies; questionnaire
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Musculoskeletal Diseases; Arthritis; Joint Diseases; Rheumatic Diseases; Osteoarthritis; Osteoarthritis, Knee
• Other Study ID Numbers: FrbCohort-01

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No