A study published in Arthritis Research and Therapy suggests that patient preferences make up the overall share of the disparity in white and African American patients who undergo total knee replacement.
Five-hundred-fourteen white and 285 AA patients with chronic knee pain and radiographic evidence of OA participated in the study.
Participants were recruited from the University of Pittsburgh and the Veterans Affair Pittsburgh Healthcare System clinics and through mailings and advertisements.
Here are three takeaways:
1. The study authors estimated that the annual rate of TKR was 4.84 per 1,000 among AA women, compared to 5.97 per 1,000 among white women. The rate for AA men (1.84 per 1,000) was dramatically lower than that for white men (4.82 per 1,000).
2. Compared to white men and women, AA men and women were less willing to undergo TKR (80 percent versus 62 percent, respectively).
3. White men and women are more likely to believe that TKR is efficacious and are more likely to be familiar with the procedure than AA men and women, who are more likely to expect surgical complications.