You have full text access to this OnlineOpen article

BRIEF REPORT: Gender and Total Knee/Hip Arthroplasty Utilization Rate in the VA System

  1. Sonya Borrero MD1,
  2. C. Kent Kwoh MD1,2,
  3. Jennifer Sartorius MS2,
  4. Said A. Ibrahim MD, MPH1,2

Article first published online: 13 MAR 2006

DOI: 10.1111/j.1525-1497.2006.00375.x

Issue

Journal of General Internal Medicine

Journal of General Internal Medicine

Volume 21, Issue S3, pages S54–S57, March 2006

Additional Information

How to Cite

Borrero, S., Kent Kwoh, C., Sartorius, J. and Ibrahim, S. A. (2006), BRIEF REPORT: Gender and Total Knee/Hip Arthroplasty Utilization Rate in the VA System. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 21: S54–S57. doi: 10.1111/j.1525-1497.2006.00375.x

Author Information

  1. 1

    School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

  2. 2

    Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion, VA Pittsburgh Health Care System, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.

*Address correspondence and requests for reprints to Dr. S. A. Ibrahim: Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion (151-C), VA Pittsburgh Health Care System, Pittsburgh, PA 15240 (e-mail: said.ibrahim2@med.va.gov).

  1. The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 13 MAR 2006
  2. Article first published online: 13 MAR 2006

SEARCH

SEARCH BY CITATION

ARTICLE TOOLS

View Full Article (HTML) Get PDF (82K)

Keywords:

  • osteoarthritis;
  • gender;
  • arthroplasty;
  • Veterans Administration

OBJECTIVE: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a leading cause of disability and is more prevalent in women than men. Total joint arthroplasty is an effective treatment option for end-stage OA. We examined gender differences in utilization rates of total knee/hip arthroplasty in the Veterans Administration (VA) system.

METHODS: The sample consisted of all VA patients for fiscal year (FY) 1999, 50 years of age or older, with or without the diagnosis of OA in any joint. We calculated the odds of patients undergoing total knee/hip arthroplasty adjusting for age, comorbidities, and presence of OA. We included the hospital site as a random effects variable to adjust for clustering.

RESULTS: Of the 1,968,093 (2.3% women) VA patients in FY 1999 who were 50 years of age or older, 329,461 (2.9% women) patients carried a diagnosis of OA. For women, 2-year adjusted odds of undergoing total knee or hip arthroplasty were 0.97 (0.83 to 1.14) and 1.00 (0.79 to 1.27), respectively.

CONCLUSION: Among patients potentially at risk for the procedure, men and women in the VA system were equally likely to undergo knee/hip arthroplasty.

View Full Article (HTML) Get PDF (82K)