الفهرس 
INTRODUCTIONOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of arthritis affecting the elderly population and a main cause of disability. Incidence and prevalence of knee OA is rising by increasing age and increasing obesity.
The main symptom of OA and immediate reason for seeking medical care is pain, however many of OA patients have commonly co-occurring symptoms (for example: fatigue, sleep problems, and mood disorders). Many studies have found that higher levels of fatigue are associated with lower levels of physical activity and higher levels of functional limitations.
Health outcome measures are an integral part of clinical research and practice. For people with OA, outcomes that specifically assess pain and function are advised, and assessment of both self-reported and objectively measured physical function is recommended.
The aim of the present study was to assess the relationship between fatigue and physical performance among patients with symptomatic knee OA. The study included one hundred and fifty patients with primary knee OA; diagnosed according to the ACR classification criteria for primary knee OA, and had complete clinical examination of both knees. Western Ontario and Mcmaster University Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) was used to assess severity of self-reported physical function limitation, pain, and stiffness.
Fifty healthy subjects constituted the control group who were subjected to (along with the patients group) assessment of physical performance using TUG and 6MWT. Fatigue was assessed in both groups using the BFI, while depression and sleep disturbance were assessed using the CES-D scale and the PSOI respectively.
It has been found in the present study that there was statistically significant difference between the studied patients and the control group regarding fatigue, depression and sleep disturbance, being higher among the patients group.
Regarding physical function, the present study showed significant difference between both groups regarding the TUG test and the 6MWT, being prolonged in duration or limited in distance in the patients group (respectively).
In addition to pain, fatigue, depression, and sleep disturbance were positively correlated with limitations in physical performance (TUG test), and negatively correlated with the 6MWT (Patients with more pain, fatigue, depression, and sleep disturbance walked for more duration or less distance in 6 minutes compared to the healthy control group).
from the present study it was concluded that fatigue was correlated with both self-reported measures of functional limitations of WOMAC, and performance-based measures of function. Moreover; disability in OA was shown to be linked not only to pain but also to fatigue, depression and sleep disturbance which have negative impact on the quality of life in OA patients.