Study: Lower-Income Earners May Fare Better after Knee Replacement Surgery - East Idaho News

Study: Lower-Income Earners May Fare Better after Knee Replacement Surgery

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GETTY H 110211 OperatingRoom?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1352670150365Jupiterimages/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — U.S. researchers say that people who earn $35,000 or less annually may have better outcomes after knee replacement surgery than those who earn more money, Health Day reports.

The findings are based on data collected over the past few decades from patients who had knee replacements at the Mayo Clinic. Researchers discovered that patients who earned lower incomes reported less pain and better knee function at their two-year checkup than their higher-earning counterparts, Health Day says.

The study’s author said the findings runs counter to what many expected to see and more work must be done to understand it further. One possible explanation, he said, could be that lower-income patients wait as long as possible to get surgery and therefore experience a more dramatic feeling of improvement, according to Health Day.

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