Osteoarthritis: quality of life, comorbidities, medication and health service utilization assessed in a large sample of primary care patients

Table 4 Health service utilization of the study sample within 6 months

During the last 6 months	Gender	At least one (%)	Mean	SD
GP visits **	Male	76.7	4.08	6.29
	Female	86.4	5.61	8.26
Visits to Orthopedic surgeon	Male	56.8	1.68	3.17
	Female	58.8	1.88	3.77
Physiotherapy*	Male	51.3	5.66	11.52
	Female	60.5	7.26	12.08
X-rays of joint	Male	49.1	0.78	3.82
	Female	52.5	0.98	4.15
Intraarticular injections**	Male	34.3	1.20	4.38
	Female	30.6	0.89	4.08
Acupuncture*	Male	26.8	0.68	2.69
	Female	27.9	1.22	4.53
Visits to Healers	Male	22.5	0.21	1.31
	Female	23.5	0.33	3.21

* p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01 in adjusted ANCOVA (age, disease duration, comorbidities)

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