Clinically important body weight gain following knee arthroplasty: A five-year comparative cohort study
Daniel L. Riddle, PhD,corresponding author Jasvinder A. Singh, MD, MPH, William S Harmsen, MS, Cathy D Schleck, BS, and David G Lewallen, MDKnee
Objective
The impact of knee arthroplasty on subsequent body weight gain has not been fully explored. Clinically important weight gain following knee arthroplasty would pose potentially important health risks.
Methods
We used one of the largest US-based knee arthroplasty registries and a population- based control sample from the same geographic region to determine whether knee arthroplasty increases risk of clinically important weight gain of 5% or more of baseline body weight over a 5-year postoperative period.
Results
Of the persons in the knee arthroplasty sample, 30.0% gained 5% or more of baseline body weight five years following surgery as compared to 19.7% of the control sample. The multivariable adjusted (age, sex, BMI, education, comorbidity and pre-surgical weight change) odds ratio was 1.6 (95% CI, 1.2, 2.2) in persons with knee arthroplasty as compared to the control sample. Additional arthroplasty procedures during the 5-year follow-up further increased risk for weight gain (OR=2.1, 95% CI, 1.4, 3.1) relative to the control sample. Specifically among patients with knee arthroplasty, younger patients and those who lost greater amounts of weight in the 5-year pre-operative period were at greater risk for clinically important weight gain.
Conclusions
Patients who undergo knee arthroplasty are at increased risk of clinically important weight gain following surgery. Future research should develop weight loss/maintenance interventions particularly for younger patients who have lost a substantial amount of weight prior to surgery as they are most at risk for substantial postsurgical weight gain.
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