PREVALENCE AND RISK FACTORS OF OSTEOARTHRITS KNEE AMONGCOASTAL POPULATION OF VIZHINJAM

Introduction:Osteoarthritis knee is a degenerative condition.  It has an important role in the morbidity of people and it affect badly to the occupational efficacy of manual labourers. Thus it influence the economy of the population. Objectives: Whatis the prevalence of Osteo arthritis knee among people of coastal area of Vizhinjam above 20 years of age group? What are the risk factors of Osteoarthritis knee among the study population? Is there any association between Osteoarthritis knee and BMI?Study design - Cross sectional study. Study setting  -   Coastal area of VizhinjamPanchayat, Kerala, India.Conclusion: Overall prevalence of Osteoarthritis knee in the coastal population of Vizhinjam is 39.7.  Age, BMI, Nature of terrain  surroundings the house, walking on loose sand and  Squatting for longer time were found to be significantly associated with osteoarthritis knee in the study population.

KEY WORDS – Osteoarthritis knee   Coastal population