Coping, pain and disability in osteoarthritis: a longitudinal study.

This study aimed at establishing the role of coping styles as prospective determinants of pain and disability in patients with osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee or hip. Data were used on 87 patients with OS of the hip and 129 patients with OA of the knee. Coping styles were assessed with a questionnaire, pain was assessed with a VAS, and disability was assessed using an observational method. Regression analysis was used to analyze relationships between the use of active and passive coping styles and the level of pain and disability 36 weeks later. In patients with OA of the knee, the passive coping style of avoidance of activity (resting) was found to predict a higher level of disability 36 weeks later after controlling for the level of baseline disability (p<.05). In the same manner, the active coping style of transforming pain was found to predict higher levels of pain 36 weeks later, also in patients with OA of the knee (p<.05). In patients with OA of the hip, no significant relationships between coping styles and pain and disability were found. Thus the role of avoidance of activity as a prospective determinant of disability, previously reported in patients with other chronic conditions, could also be established for OA of the knee, but not for OA of the hip. Transforming pain was found to determine pain in OA of the knee. (aut.ref.