Osteoarthritis of the Distal Interphalangeal and First Carpometacarpal Joints is Associated with High Bone Mass in Women and Small Bone Size and Low Lean Mass in Men

OBJECTIVE: To determine if primary hand osteoarthritis (OA) is associated with abnormal bone and anthropometric traits. METHODS: We used DXA to measure total body bone mineral density (BMD), femoral neck width (bone size) and total body lean and fat mass in 39 subjects with hand OA (primary DIP and/or CMC I) and 164 controls. Data are presented as mean Z-scores or Odds Ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals. RESULTS: Women with hand OA had (compared to controls) higher BMD (0.5(0.1,0.9)) but similar bone size (-0.3(-0.8,0.2)), lean mass (0.3(-0.3,0.9)), fat mass (-0.1(-0.6,0.5)) and BMI (0.0(-0.6,0.6)). Men with hand OA had (compared to controls) similar BMD (-0.1(-0.7,0.6)), smaller bone size (-0.5(-1.1,-0.01)), lower lean mass (-0.6(-1.1,-0.04)), and similar fat mass (-0.2(-0.7,0.4)) and BMI -0.1(-0.6,0.6). In women, each SD higher BMD was associated with an OR of 1.8 (1.03, 3.3) for having hand OA. In men each SD smaller bone size was associated with an OR of 1.8 (1.02, 3.1) and each SD lower proportion of lean body mass with an OR of 1.9 (1.1, 3.3) for having hand OA. CONCLUSION: Women with primary DIP finger joint and/or CMC I joint OA have a phenotype with higher BMD while men with the disease have a smaller bone size and lower lean body mass.