New Haven survey of joint diseases. XVII. Relationship between some systemic characteristics and osteoarthrosis in a general population.

Abstract

Acheson, R. M., and Collart, A. B. (1975). Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, 34, 379-387. New Haven survey of joint diseases. XVII. Relationship between some systemic characteristics and osteoarthrosis in a general population. In a survey of the general population the presence or absence ofosteoarthrosis of the hand was determined radiologically in 685 adults (300 males and 385 females). Of these, 261 (124 males and 137 females), chosen randomly, were given a complete clinical examination of the musculoskeletal system which included x-ray ofjoints elsewhere in the body. Osteoarthrosis (OA) scores for the hand and for all body sites were computed for each subject by summing the number of affected joints. For all subjects social class, height, weight, total serum protein, serum uric acid, haemoglobin, antistreptolysin 0, (ASO), C-reactive protein (CRP), and rheumatoid factor were also measured. Analyses were carried out by simple comparison of means and by calculating multiple regressions and correlations.The results showed the following. (a) The factor most closely associated with OA score is age. (b) Multiple coefficients of correlation between all the factors and OA were consistently higher in women than in men. For instance, for the hand R2 was 0-32 in men and 0 49 in women. All the factors significantly associated with OA contributed to this sex difference. (c) In the hands and in all body sites OA scores were significantly higher in males than females under the age of 34 years, the opposite being true for those over 35, but the differences were not significant. (d) Other factors significantly associated with OA score both in weight-bearing and in nonweight-bearing joints in both sexes were CRP, weight/height ratio, serum uric acid, and ASO. In females such an association was also found with rheumatoid factor. With the possible exception of ASO, relationships between all these factors and OA have been found in at least one other epidemiological study.It is concluded that systemic factors underly the development of degenerative joint disease, and that this systemic component is more important in women than in men.

The Role of Uric Acid and Other Crystals in Osteoarthritis

“…In contrast, Sun et al [6] specifically studied the interaction between serum urate levels and OA and observed an increase in generalized OA in patients with hyperuricemia, although only when the hip joint was involved. These results are in concert with those of Acheson et al [7], who found a strong correlation between serum UA levels and generalized OA in a previous study. In both studies, the authors postulated that the association between hyperuricemia and OA might be explained by a shared common risk factor (eg, increased risk for avascular necrosis in the subchondral bone of the hip related to hyperuricemia, or a related metabolic or insulin resistance syndrome) rather than any direct effect of serum urate on the affected joints.…”

Radiographic osteoarthritis in the elderly. A cohort comparison and a longitudinal study of the “70-year old people in Göteborg”

“…In the present study, with wider diagnostic criteria for radiographic osteoarthritis, similar results were obtained. Sex differences in the prevalence of radiographic osteoarthritis in both hand and knee joints have, however, been found in a number of studies, and a higher prevalence of osteoarthritis has been reported in women after the age of 55 (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(22)(23)(24). These studies do, however, not include age-specific groups of individuals over the age of 75.…”

Overview of the relationship between pain and obesity: What do we know? Where do we go next?

“…However, of the three-knee, hip, and hand OA-the evidence for OA of the hand is the most equivocal. Older studies have found an association between OA of the interphalangeal joints and overweight/obesity in males [51] and both males and females [52]. In one large cross-sectional study of the general population, obesity was found to be strongly associated with OA of the knees and the carpometacarpal joint and weakly associated with OA of the interphalangeal joints [44].…”