Osteoarthritis is a leading cause of pain and disability in the western world(1). Patient education is the cornerstone of successful management, and patients should ideally receive written information to support their self-care(Reference Leslie2). The quality of the written information is of paramount importance, but is often inadequate(Reference Grime and Ong3). Booklets typically provide very little nutritional information. This pilot study explored, whether an evidence-based, nutritional booklet could encourage dietary and lifestyle changes and improve symptoms in people with osteoarthritis of the hip and/or knee. Evidence-based approaches were identified from the textbook, Nutrition & Arthritis (Reference Rayman and Callaghan4) and from a search of the published literature. The information was incorporated into a coloured, illustrated 40-page lay booklet entitled Nutrition and Osteoarthritis. Thirty-one men and women with self-reported hip and/or knee osteoarthritis completed a Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) questionnaire at base-line, and 12 weeks after receiving the booklet. A 20% relative reduction in symptom scores is considered a clinically important change(Reference Tubach, Ravaud and Beaton5). Analysis of paired data from 21 participants who returned both questionnaires showed mean relative reductions in WOMAC symptom scores of 21.95% for pain (95% CI±1.32; P=0.026), 21.26% for stiffness (95% CI±0.67; P=0.028), 22.47% for physical function (95% CI±4.38; P=0.012) and 22.25% for global score (95% CI±5.92; P=0.10). Effect sizes were moderate to large (Cohen's d between 0.42 and 0.52). This pilot study suggests that an evidence-based booklet that encourages dietary and lifestyle changes can provide clinically meaningful benefit for people with osteoarthritis of the hip and/or knee.
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