Coping, pain, and disability in osteoarthritis: A longitudinal study

Objective. To establish the role of coping styles as prospective determinan ts of pain and disability in patients with osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee or hip. Methods. Data from 71 patients with OA of the hip and 119 patients with OA of the knee were used. Using regression analysis, relationships were establ ished between the use of active and passive coping styles and the level of pain and disability 36 weeks later. Results. In patients with knee OA, the passive coping style of resting was found to predict a higher level of disability 36 weeks later after controll ing for the baseline level of disability. In the same manner in patients wi th knee OA, the active coping style of transforming pain was found to predi ct higher levels of pain 36 weeks later, In patients with hip OA, no signif icant relationship between coping styles and pain and disability was found. Conclusion. The role of resting as a prospective determinant of disability, as reported ill patients with other chronic disorders, could also be estab lished for knee OA. but not hip OA. Transforming pain was found to be a ris k factor for pain in knee OA.