Australia (Commonwealth Union) – Obesity is heavily linked to diet and lifestyles which require less physical activity, remains a significant contributing factor for a variety of conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, cancer and more. A University of Queensland study has showed that Australians having a knee replacement operation have a greater chance of needing more surgery if they are obese.
The University of Queensland Rural Clinical School (UQRCS) scientists evaluated the link between obesity and unsuccessful knee replacements that need a revision operation in 6 years of the Australian Orthopaedic Association National Joint Replacement Registry data.
Dr Chris Wall, who is the lead investigator and orthopaedic surgeon at UQRCS, stated that the most frequent reasons for revision surgery had associations with infection, implant loosening, instability, and pain. “We found that obese patients had a higher rate of revision surgery overall, and a higher rate of revision for infection specifically, when compared to non-obese patients,” he said. “Morbidly obese patients also had a higher rate of revision for implant loosening.”
31% of Australian adults are obese, a known risk factor in the formation of knee osteoarthritis and the subsequent requirement for knee replacement surgery.
Associate Professor Srinivas Kondalsamy-Chennakesavan, who is the UQRCS Head of Research, stated that a prior study by the research team showed that 58% of patients who had a knee replacement in the country were obese. “Our previous work showed that the risk of undergoing a knee replacement for osteoarthritis is clearly related to a person’s body mass index,” he said, adding that the study discovered that obese patients having a knee replacement have an increased risk of revision surgery than non-obese patients.
The study was carried out in partnership with Professor Christopher Vertullo, Ms. Michelle Lorimer and Professor Richard de Steiger and the paper appeared in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery.
