Women who suffer from knee osteoarthritis appear to wait for longer than men before having
knee surgery, experts have found.
Osteoarthritis is one of the most common forms of arthritis, a disease affecting the joints that affects over nine million people in the UK.
While the majority of sufferers never need to undergo knee surgery, around 56,000 British people have a knee replacement every year, while a further 60,000 people undergo
hip replacement surgery.
However, researchers from the University of East London's School of Health and Bioscience found that women frequently delay knee surgery, meaning that they may experience poorer post-operative outcomes.
One of the researchers, Dr Leo Raisis, said that more needs to be done to inform women of the risks and benefits of knee surgery.
He said: "Better education may bring patients - especially women - in for a necessary surgery earlier so they can return to a better quality of life much sooner."
