One in three hip and knee replacement patients had obesity, audit finds

The National Orthopaedic Register national report 2015-2024 found that 33% of patients who underwent knee replacement surgery had a BMI over 30, compared with 27% of hip replacement patients. File photo: PA

Around one in three patients who underwent hip or knee replacement surgery over the past decade had obesity, with a body mass index (BMI) above 30, an audit has found, highlighting the increasing complexity of care for these procedures.

The findings are contained in the National Orthopaedic Register national report 2015-2024, published on Wednesday by the National Office of Clinical Audit.