Social media as a source of information for patients with knee osteoarthritis

Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is a chronic, disabling condition without a definitive cure, and current management strategies prioritize symptom relief and slowing disease progression rather than addressing the underlying cause. Therefore, KOA patients turn to social media (SM) in the hope of finding a solution or a treatment to relieve their pain. The main goal of this study was to explore the prevalence of information sought by KOA patients on SM and to determine factors associated with its use.

This cross-sectional study included adult patients followed in our rheumatology department for KOA according to the American College of Rheumatology criteria for > 3 months. All patients underwent a standardized questionnaire-based interview covering their sociodemographic and clinical data, including age, level of education, body mass index, disease duration, and the presence of comorbidities. Pain intensity was measured using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS). We used the Lequesne index for KOA to assess functional impairment, and the Kellgren and Lawrence classification to assess the severity of KOA. We utilized the Trust in Physician Scale (TPS) to measure patients' trust in their physicians. In contrast, the Beliefs about Medicines Questionnaire (BMQ)-Specific Concerns subscale assessed patients' concerns about prescribed medication. Psychosocial risk factors were assessed using the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS), the Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7), and the Patient Health Questionnaire for depression (PHQ-9).

A total of 178 patients were included, with an average age of 58 ± 9,915 years and a female predominance (88,2%). The average progression period of KOA was around 3 years [1; 8,5] and the median pain score on the VAS was 4,79 ± 2,214. A third of KOA patients turned to SM for health information, mainly YouTube. While 17% trusted the content, a comparable 10% shared it with their doctors. The main factors associated with SM use were younger age, higher level of education, and higher pain catastrophizing.

These findings highlight the significant potential of SM platforms for KOA patients, whether it's enhancing their education and awareness, fostering peer support and community connections, or enabling better communication and remote monitoring with healthcare providers.