Depressive symptoms are a major comorbidity in older adults with knee osteoarthritis (OA). However, the type of activity-induced knee pain associated with depression has not been examined. Furthermore, there is conflicting evidence regarding the association between depression and performance-based physical function. This study aimed to examine (i) the association between depressive symptoms and knee pain intensity, particularly task-specific knee pain during daily living, and (ii) the association between depressive symptoms and performance-based physical function, while considering other potential risk factors, including bilateral knee pain and ambulatory physical activity. Patients in orthopaedic clinics (n = 95; age, 61–91 years; 67.4% female) who were diagnosed with radiographic knee OA (Kellgren/Lawrence [K/L] grade ≥ 1) underwent evaluation of psychological health using the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS). Knee pain and physical function were assessed using the Japanese Knee Osteoarthritis Measure (JKOM), 10-m walk, timed up and go (TUG), and five-repetition chair stand tests. Ordinal logistic regression analysis showed that depression, defined as a GDS score ≥ 5 points, was significantly associated with a worse score on the JKOM pain-subcategory and a higher level of task-specific knee pain intensity during daily living, after being adjusted for age, sex, body mass index (BMI), K/L grade, and ambulatory physical activity. Furthermore, depression was significantly associated with a slower gait velocity and a longer TUG time, after adjusting for age, sex, BMI, K/L grade, presence of bilateral knee pain, and ambulatory physical activity. These findings indicate that depression may be associated with increased knee pain intensity during daily living in a non-task-specific manner and is associated with functional limitation in patients with knee OA, even after controlling for covariates, including bilateral knee pain and ambulatory physical activity.

To compare the efficacy and adherence rates of two parallel home exercise therapy programs—multiple exercise (training and stretching the knee and hip muscles) and control (training the quadriceps muscles)—on knee pain, physical function, and knee extension strength in community-dwelling elderly individuals with pre-radiographic knee osteoarthritis (OA). One hundred patients with medial knee pain were randomly allocated to one of two 4-week home exercise programs. Individuals with a Kellgren/Lawrence (K/L) grade 0 or 1 OA (pre-radiographic knee OA) in the medial compartment were enrolled. Primary outcomes were knee pain (visual analog scale), self-reported physical function (Japanese Knee Osteoarthritis Measure [JKOM]), and isometric maximum muscle strength of the knee extensor measured using a hand-held dynamometer. A total of 52 patients (28 [53.8%] in the multiple exercise group, 24 [46.2%] in the control group) completed the trial. The JKOM activities of daily living and general health conditions outcomes improved significantly in the multiple exercise group compared to the control group (JKOM activities of daily living, beta = − 0.76; 95% confidence interval [CI], − 1.39 to − 0.13; p = 0.01; JKOM general health conditions, beta = − 0.25; 95% CI, − 0.48 to − 0.01; p = 0.03). The home exercise compliance rates of the multiple exercise and control groups were 96.6 and 100%, respectively. When targeting pre-radiographic knee OA in community-dwelling elderly, it is important to implement home exercise programs that aim to improve muscle strength and joint flexibility rather than knee extension muscle power only.

Background: Telework has been widely discussed in several fields; however, there is a lack of research on the health aspects of teleworking. The current study was conducted to determine the health effects of teleworking during an emergency statement as evidence for future policy development. Method: This was a cross-sectional study in which we administered an online questionnaire to 5,214 general workers (response rate = 36.4%) from June 2020 to August 2020. Based on working methods during the pandemic, workers were categorized into the office group (n = 86) and telework group (n = 1597), and we characterized their demographics, changes in lifestyle, telework status, physical symptoms, and mental health. Results: The results showed that the workers’ residence, marital status, management positions, and employee status affected the choice of the work method. During the emergency, teleworkers experienced more changes in their habits than office workers. In terms of exercise habits, 67.0% of the individuals belonging to the office-telework (OT) group exercised less. Approximately half of the teleworkers were satisfied with their telework, and those in the OT group were less satisfied with their telework than those in the telework-telework (TT) group, and they reported an increase in both working hours and meeting hours. Work-family conflict was more pronounced in the TT group than in the two other groups. Only 13.2% of individuals did not experience any stress in the past 30 days, and all three groups showed varying degrees of anxiety and depressive tendencies. In addition, all teleworkers experienced adverse physical symptoms before and after the emergency. Conclusion: Health issues associated with teleworking should be given adequate attention.