Higher perceived environmental barriers impact the risk of long-term participation restriction among older adults with or at risk of knee osteoarthritis (OA), according to a recent study. Approaches aimed at reducing the development of participation restrictions in this population should consider decreasing environmental barriers. Participants from the Multicenter Osteoarthritis (MOST) Study self-reported participation at baseline, 30 months, and 60 months using the instrumental role subscale of the Late Life Disability Index (LLDI). Data on self-reported environmental features were from the Home and Community Environment questionnaire administered in the MOST Knee Pain and Disability study, an ancillary study of MOST. Researchers found:

• 69 of the 322 participants (27%) developed participation restriction by 60 months.
• Participants reporting high community mobility barriers at baseline had 1.8 times the risk of participation restriction at 60 months, after adjusting for covariates.
• Self-report of high transportation facilitators at baseline resulted in a reduced, but statistically non-significant, risk of participation restriction at 60 months.