Grant: Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common type of arthritis and a common cause of pain and disability. Although pain medication is effective in relieving OA pain, many people with OA do not take painkillers. One of the reasons is that some pain medication may upset stomach as well as rare but serious side effects, such as stomach bleed or increased risk of heart attack and stroke. To assess the benefits and risk of using pain medication in OA, we used a computer simulation model of OA in Canada. The model was built using data from large health databases, national population surveys and the medical literature. The model allowed us to study what would be the impact on quality of life if more or fewer OA patients took painkillers. We looked at four types of pain medication commonly used in OA (Acetaminophen, NSAIDs, Coxibs and Opioids). In the first hypothetical scenario we found that the average quality of life of OA patients would have decreased considerably if no pain medication was provided. Second, we observed that the maximum benefit would have been achieved if medication had been given to all patients with OA, despite some increase in side effects. However, the benefit was almost the same (maximum benefit) in the third scenario, in which medication was given only to patients whose quality of life was already significantly reduced. Finally, when we assumed that the medication had no side effects at all, there was a very small improvement in quality of life. In summary, our model shows that the quality of life of people with OA can be significantly improved if appropriate pain control is applied. It also suggests that the negative impact of side effects on quality of life in OA patients is small compared to the benefits from pain control.