Could your knee or hip arthritis be in a health state worse than death?

It’s hard to consider being in alive, but in a functional state worse than being dead. Obviously, we aren’t able to measure outcomes once someone has died. Interestingly, Scott et. al. BJJ 2019 investigated this notion and reported their findings. They linked EuroQol 5D, a pain and function indicator to Oxford Hip and Knee Scores where scores less than 0 for EuroQol were considered in a health state worse than dead.

Interestly, Oxford Knee scores less than 17 and Oxford Hip scores less than 15 were considered to be in health states worse than death.

This may be a strong indicator for a patient who may be a good candidate for surgery, however other factors such as depression or other health states may affect the scores as well. This would be something to consider discussing with your Orthopaedic surgeon.