@article{kiadaliri_socioeconomic_2016, title = {Socioeconomic inequalities in knee pain, knee osteoarthritis, and health-related quality of life: a population-based cohort study in southern Sweden.}, issn = {1502-7732}, doi = {10.1080/03009742.2016.1181203}, shorttitle = {Socioeconomic inequalities in knee pain, knee osteoarthritis, and health-related quality of life}, abstract = {{OBJECTIVES}: To determine socioeconomic inequalities in frequent knee pain ({FKP}), knee osteoarthritis ({OA}), and associated health-related quality of life ({HRQoL}) in Sweden. {METHOD}: In 2007 a postal questionnaire about knee pain was sent to a random sample of 10 000 residents of Malmö, Sweden (7402 individuals responded). Subjects reporting pain with duration ≥ 4 weeks in one or both knees in the past 12 months were classified as having {FKP}. A random sample of 1527 subjects with and without {FKP} attended a clinical and radiographic knee examination and responded to generic and disease-specific {HRQoL} questionnaires. We used the individuals' level of education and occupation as socioeconomic status ({SES}) measures, and we calculated the relative index of inequality ({RII}) using Poisson regression with robust standard errors adjusted for age and gender. We applied weighting to account for a possible selection bias that might arise from non-responses in the study. {RESULTS}: With education, the {RIIs} for {FKP} and knee {OA} were 0.71 [95\% confidence interval ({CI}) 0.61-0.84] and 0.56 (95\% {CI} 0.34-0.93), respectively. With occupation, the corresponding figures were 0.70 (95\% {CI} 0.60-0.82) and 0.59 (95\% {CI} 0.37-0.94), respectively. There were socioeconomic gradients in {HRQoL} in favour of people with better {SES}. {RIIs} for {FKP} and {HRQoL} but not knee {OA} were essentially similar after additional adjustment for mediators. {CONCLUSIONS}: In Sweden there are socioeconomic gradients related to both {FKP} and knee {OA} as well as {HRQoL} in favour of people with better {SES}. {SES} should be taken into account in health resource allocation pertaining to knee-related disorders.}, pages = {1--9}, journaltitle = {Scandinavian Journal of Rheumatology}, shortjournal = {Scand. J. Rheumatol.}, author = {Kiadaliri, A. A. and Gerhardsson de Verdier, M. and Turkiewicz, A. and Lohmander, L. S. and Englund, M.}, date = {2016-07-06}, pmid = {27385007} }