Effect of comorbidity on quality of life of male veterans with prevalent primary total knee arthroplasty.

This is a study of the impact of specific and overall comorbidity on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in men with primary total knee arthroplasty (TKA). In a population-based sample of male veterans who responded to a cross-sectional survey using the validated short-form 36 for veterans (SF-36 V) and had undergone primary TKA prior to survey, eight SF-36 V domain and two summary scores (physical and mental component (PCS and MCS) summary) were compared using multivariable-adjusted multiple linear regressions between patients with and without five comorbidities--chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)/asthma, diabetes, depression, hypertension, and heart disease. Analyses were adjusted for age, five comorbidities, and time since TKA. Two hundred ninety-three male patients constituted the analytic set with mean (SD) age of 70.3 (8.8) years; 97% were Caucasian and mean (SD) duration since TKA was 2.1 (0.7) years. COPD/asthma was associated with significantly lower adjusted MCS (mean +/- standard error of mean, 47.1 +/- 0.7 vs. 43.1 +/- 1.2; p