COVID-19 in Osteoarthritis Patients

While the coronavirus pandemic has spread rapidly around the world, it has generated a considerable degree of fear, concern and anxiety among the population in general and among certain groups in particular, such as older persons. Initial findings from studies in China indicated the presence of moderate to severe psychological impact in a significant proportion of individuals and an increased prevalence of post-traumatic stress symptoms. It should also be noted that other types of symptoms, such as anxiety and depression, appeared to persist over time and to a greater extent.

Osteoarthritis can develop in any joint, but most often affects the knees, hands and hips. People with osteoarthritis are often older and sometimes more frail than the general population. The main recommendations for non-drug treatment of osteoarthritis include education, physical activity and structured exercise programmes with or without weight reduction. Due to the confinement associated with COVID-19, many patients have had to stop exercise/physical activity and postpone prosthetic surgery. Apart from the context of delay in surgery, there is little data available on the impact of the pandemic on people with arthritis. Several questions are therefore still pending concerning the impact of the pandemic on these patients.

The investigators hypothesise that the following therapeutic modalities have been disrupted during this period: access to care, scheduling of prosthetic surgery, consumption of painkillers or NSAIDs, recourse to physical activities, recourse to physiotherapy sessions, weight changes, level of pain.... Our objective is to evaluate the physical, social, psychological and behavioural consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic in a cohort of osteoarthritis patients.