Hyperuricaemia associated with higher prevalence of hand osteoarthritis

The pathogenesis of hand osteoarthritis (OA) remains unknown. Hyperuricaemia, which is related to inflammation, may play a role in hand osteoarthritis, but evidence is lacking. In a large population-based study, we examined the association between hyperuricaemia and hand osteoarthritis.

Participants were from the Xiangya osteoarthritis Study, a community-based observational study. Hyperuricaemia was defined as serum urate >416 µmol/L in men and >357 µmol/L in women. Radiographic hand osteoarthritis (RHOA) was defined as presence of the modified Kellgren-Lawrence grade ≥2 in any hand joint. Symptomatic hand osteoarthritis (SHOA) was defined as presence of both self-reported symptoms and RHOA in the same hand. The associations of hyperuricaemia with RHOA or SHOA were examined using generalised estimating equations.

Results

Among 3628 participants, the prevalence of RHOA was higher in participants with hyperuricaemia than those with normouricaemia (26.9% vs 20.9%), with an adjusted OR (aOR) of 1.34 (95% CI 1.11 to 1.61). The associations were consistent in men (aOR 1.33, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.74) and women (aOR 1.35, 95% CI 1.05 to 1.74). Hyperuricaemia was mainly associated with bilateral RHOA (aOR 1.54, 95% CI 1.18 to 2.01) but not unilateral RHOA (aOR 1.13, 95% CI 0.89 to 1.45). Prevalence of SHOA was higher, although statistically insignificant, in participants with hyperuricaemia (aOR 1.39, 95% CI 0.94 to 2.07).

In this population-based study, hyperuricaemia was associated with a higher prevalence of hand osteoarthritis. Future prospective studies are required to investigate the temporal relationship.

Reference:

Zhu Y, Li J, Zhang Y, Zhang W, Doherty M, Yang Z, Cui Y, Zeng C, Lei G, Yang T, Wei J. Association between hyperuricaemia and hand osteoarthritis: data from the Xiangya Osteoarthritis Study. RMD Open. 2023 Dec 1;9(4):e003683. doi: 10.1136/rmdopen-2023-003683. PMID: 38053456; PMCID: PMC10693871.

Keywords:

Hyperuricaemia, associated, with, higher, prevalence, hand osteoarthritis, Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal diseases, Zhu Y, Li J, Zhang Y, Zhang W, Doherty M, Yang Z, Cui Y, Zeng C, Lei G, Yang T, Wei J