Positive Association between Dispositional Mindfulness and Knee OsteoarthritisCommon Health Problems

Abstract

Abstract Background Knee Osteoarthritis is one of the most common chronic illnesses that often cause health problems. The objective of our study is to explore whether dispositional mindfulness is associated with knee OA patient’s common health problems of physical, psychological, and activity behavior.Methods A cross-sectional study and purposive sampling were performed by orthopedic clinic patients in hospitals in Southern Taiwan. A total has 250 adults completed the study questionnaires. Multiple linear regression was used to explore potentially related factors for dispositional mindfulness.Results We found that higher dispositional mindfulness is associated with married or spouse, better-perceived health status, lower depression, and greater physical activity in the knee OA population. Dispositional mindfulness was not related to joint pain, joint stiffness, physical function, fear of falling, and exercise self-efficacy. However, this study demonstrated that dispositional mindfulness is positively associated with Knee OA common health problems. These relationships help distinguish knee OA’s at a high risk of lower dispositional mindfulness.Conclusions We found that persons without close partners (single, widowed, or divorced) may with lower dispositional mindfulness and need to pay attention to them. Also, more studies are desired to clarify and explain the role-playing of dispositional mindfulness on pain and physical activity. We suggest further study to assess whether the cultivation of mindfulness (e.g., mindfulness-based interventions) may lead to improved physical, psychological, and activity behavior in the knee OA population are needed.