Search

Background: This study examined the prevalence and risk factors of falls, by evaluating the association between risk factors and falls and number of falls, and by determining cut-off scores for fall risk measures among community-dwelling adults in Saudi Arabia.Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted in community, Riyadh city, Saudi Arabia. A sample of 276 Saudi citizens aged ³ 40 years who were able to read and write in Arabic. Fall history and number of falls in the past 12 months were determined via self-reports. Variables assessed included demographic information, self-reported chronic diseases, depressive symptoms, and back pain severity.Results: Participants were classified as either fallers (n=28, 10.14%) or non-fallers. Fallers were more likely to have arthritis (odds ratio [OR]: 7.60, p=0.001), back pain (OR: 5.22, p=0.002), and higher depressive symptom scores (OR: 1.09, p=0.013) than non-fallers. The number of reported falls was significantly associated with an elevated body mass index (incidence rate ratio [IRR]: 1.09, p=0.045), arthritis (IRR: 8.74, pConclusions: The prevalence of falls was relatively low among the individuals considered in this study. Chronic conditions, back pain severity, and depressive symptoms were determined to be associated with falls among community-dwelling individuals in Saudi Arabia.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common degenerative disease affecting joints with an increasing prevalence around the world and in the Middle East region. Research about the prevalence/incidence of OA in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries was limited with inconsistent findings. Therefore, the aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis for studies reporting the prevalence/incidence of OA among people living in the GCC countries. A comprehensive search was performed using MEDLINE, PubMed, CINAHL, Web of Science, and Google Scholar from inception to December 2020 to identify eligible studies examining the prevalence/incidence of OA in the GCC countries. Meta-analysis was conducted, and the Newcastle Ottawa Quality Assessment Tool for Observational Cohort and Cross-Sectional Studies was utilized to evaluate methodological quality. Thirteen studies were included (12 studies reported prevalence and one study reported incidence), with a total of 24,625 participants with an estimated overall prevalence of 16.13% and incidence of 3.5% of OA in the GCC countries. The quality of the included studies was unsatisfactory (six studies), satisfactory (six studies), and good quality (one study). Common risk factors were being older adult, female, obese, and having lower scores for quality of life. This study shows a high prevalence of OA among individuals living in the GCC countries at approximately 16.13%. Only one study reported incidence of 3.5% of OA in this population. This prevalence rate needs to be confirmed in future research with a similar population and at the site of joint OA levels. Common risk factors should be interpreted with caution since only a few studies reported risk factors. Key Points • The pooled prevalence of Osteoarthritis in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries was 16.13% based on 12 included studies.

Introduction: The coexistence of Knee osteoarthritis (OA) and diabetes mellitus (DM) can be explained by shared risk factors such as age and obesity. Both conditions adversely affect gait speed, however, longitudinal studies investigating the relationship between gait speed and DM incidence in people with or at elevated risk for knee OA are lacking. Therefore, the aim was to investigate the association between baseline gait speed and risk of DM incidence among people with or at risk for knee OA. Methods: Participants from the osteoarthritis initiative, aged 45 to 79 years, who were at risk or had knee OA and followed up from baseline to 96-month visit were included. Self-reported diabetes was used over a 4-time points to identify DM incidence. Gait speed was measured at baseline using 20 meter walk test. Body mass index (BMI) was measured and included as a time-dependent covariate. Generalized estimating equations with logistic regression were utilized to examine the association between baseline gait speed and DM incidence. Results: Increased baseline gait speed was significantly associated with decreased odds of incident DM after adjustments for covariates (OR 0.52). The risk of DM incidence decreased 48% for each 0.1 m/s increase in gait speed at baseline for individuals with established or at risk of knee OA. Sensitivity analysis showed that the significant results were maintained with those at risk of OA (OR 0.45) but not in those with established knee OA. Conclusion: Increasing baseline gait speed in general was significantly associated with a lower risk of DM incidence over time. However, the association disappeared after adjustments for BMI in people with established knee OA, suggesting that the majority of this association might be explained by higher weight. Therefore, future research should examine closely the link between gait speed and well-defined DM risk using objective measures such as glucose level. Disclosure A.M. Alenazi: None. B. Alqahtani: None. M.M. Alshehri: None. A.D. Alanazi: None. K. Khunti: Advisory Panel; Self; Amgen, AstraZeneca, Bayer AG, Berlin-Chemie AG, Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH, Eli Lilly and Company, Menarini Group, Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., Napp Pharmaceuticals, Novartis AG, Novo Nordisk A/S, Roche Pharma, Sanofi-Aventis, Servier. Board Member; Self; AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly and Company, Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., Novo Nordisk A/S, Sanofi-Aventis. Consultant; Self; Amgen, AstraZeneca, Bayer AG, Berlin-Chemie AG, Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH, Eli Lilly and Company, Menarini Group, Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., Napp Pharmaceuticals, Novartis AG, Novo Nordisk A/S, Roche Pharma, Sanofi-Aventis, Servier. Research Support; Self; AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH, Eli Lilly and Company, Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., Novartis AG, Novo Nordisk A/S, Pfizer Inc., Sanofi-Aventis, Servier. Speaker’s Bureau; Self; Amgen, AstraZeneca, Bayer AG, Berlin-Chemie AG, Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH, Eli Lilly and Company, Menarini Group, Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., Napp Pharmaceuticals, Novartis AG, Novo Nordisk A/S, Roche Pharma, Sanofi-Aventis, Servier. V. Vennu: None. N.A. Segal: None. S.M. Bindawas: None.

This study investigated the association of combined arthritis and diabetes, diabetes only, and arthritis only compared with neither with gait speed in the general population. This cross-sectional study included data from the second wave of Midlife in the United States-2 (MIDUS 2) project 4: Biomarker Project, 2004-2009. The MIDUS 2 biomarker project included 1255 individuals aged between 34 and 84 years. Participants were categorized into four groups: combined arthritis and diabetes, diabetes only, arthritis only, or neither. The main outcome measure was gait speed measured by the 50-ft walk test. Covariates included age, gender, body mass index (BMI), depression symptoms, and number of chronic conditions/symptoms. A total of 1255 participants were included with mean age 54.52 ± 11.71, of those 713 (56.8%) participants were females. The results showed that combined arthritis and diabetes was significantly associated with a greater decline in gait speed (B = - 0.11, 95% confidence interval (CI) [- 0.17 to - 0.6], p 0.001). Arthritis and diabetes were independently significantly associated with decreased gait speed (B = - 0.072, 95% CI [- 0.10 to - 0.043], p 0.001), (B = - 0.064, 95% CI [- 0.12 to - 0.012], p = 0.015), respectively. Combined arthritis and diabetes was associated with a greater decline in gait speed compared with diabetes only, arthritis only, or neither group. Key Points • Combined arthritis and diabetes were associated with declined gait speed. • Gait speed did not differ between people with arthritis compared with people with diabetes. • We recommended including gait speed assessment in regular clinical visits to capture gait speed declines for further health assessments.