Gynecology & Obstetrics
Open Access

Abstract

Relative Risk of Knee Osteoarthritis in Women Carpet Weavers and Non-Carpet Weavers

Parviz Yazdanpanah, Ali Mousavizadeh, Zohreh Rahimipour and Zafar Masomi

Introduction: Osteoarthritis of the knee is a common disease that presents with knee pain, morning stiffness and limited knee joint motions. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between jobs of carpet weavers with the traditional method and the incidence of knee osteoarthritis.

Materials and methods: In this historical cohort study, we compared 53 female carpet weavers and 50 female non-carpet weavers. The diagnostic criteria of the American College of Rheumatology were used for final evaluation.

Results: The incidence of knee osteoarthritis was 52.8% in carpet weavers group and 28% in non-carpet weavers group, respectively.

There was a significant relationship between the incidence of knee osteoarthritis and the kind of job (p=0/0104). The relative risk of the disease in the exposed group was 1.526 more than in the unexposed group. This ratio was statistically significant (CI=1/13-3/15).

The population attributable risk in this study was estimated 31.3% and the exposure attributable risk was estimated 47%.

There was not a significant relationship between knee osteoarthritis with daily work hours, the number of parturition, education level and BMI.

Conclusion: Carpet weavers and kneeling for long is one strong risk factor for knee osteoarthritis. Probably, the type of sitting (kneeling) with recurrent stress to the joint is one of the risk factors for knee osteoarthritis. Our results suggest that changes in the type of sitting can effectively prevent or reduce the severity and the signs of osteoarthritis.