Age-Adjusted Normative Values for Hip Patient-Reported Outcome Measures

Area of Science:

• Orthopedics
• Health Outcomes Research
• Gerontology

Background:

• Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) assess patient function and treatment outcomes.
• Current PROMs often assume perfect scores for healthy individuals, potentially misinterpreting results.
• The impact of age on hip-specific PROMs in healthy populations remains unstudied.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the influence of age on hip-specific PROMs in asymptomatic individuals.
• To determine if age-dependent score decreases exist for various hip outcome tools.

Main Methods:

• A multicenter survey study involving asymptomatic volunteers who completed hip-specific PROMs.
• Utilized the International Hip Outcome Tool (iHOT), modified Harris Hip Score (mHHS), and Hip Outcome Score (HOS-ADL, HOS-Sport).
• Analyzed PROM scores across age groups (<40, 40-60, >60 years) using ANOVA and t-tests.

Main Results:

• All tested PROMs (iHOT, mHHS, HOS-ADL, HOS-Sport) showed a decrease with increasing age in asymptomatic individuals.
• Specific score reductions were observed across all age categories, with the >60 group scoring lowest.
• Statistically significant differences were found between age groups (P < .05).

Conclusions:

• Hip-specific PROMs scores decrease in an age-dependent manner among asymptomatic individuals.
• Age-normalized scores are essential for accurate interpretation of patient outcomes.
• Findings necessitate a re-evaluation of reference frames for hip outcome assessments.