Body mass index and progressive hand osteoarthritis: data from the Oslo hand osteoarthritis cohort.
OBJECTIVE
Few longitudinal studies have studied the association between body mass index (BMI) and hand osteoarthritis (OA). We aimed to explore the association between BMI and progressive hand OA in a longitudinal study of the Oslo hand OA cohort.


METHODS
Participants with existing hand OA had hand radiographs and BMI data taken at baseline and 7-year follow-up (n = 103). The radiographs were read according to the Kellgren-Lawrence (KL) scale. First, we examined the association between baseline BMI and incident OA (KL grade ≥ 2) in joints without OA at baseline (adjusted for age and sex) using generalized estimating equation (GEE) analyses. Second, we examined whether changes in BMI from baseline to follow-up were associated with increasing KL sum score from baseline to follow-up using linear regression. We repeated the analyses using changes in number of joints with symptomatic OA and patient-reported pain and physical function as the outcome.


RESULTS
The mean (SD) age at baseline was 61.6 (5.6) years and 91 (94%) of the cohort were women. The mean (SD) BMI was 25.7 (4.0) kg/m(2) at baseline and the mean (SD) BMI change was 1.1 (2.0) kg/m(2). There was no relationship between baseline BMI and development of more joints with OA during follow-up. Similarly, there was no association between change in BMI and hand OA progression, increasing hand pain or disability.


CONCLUSIONS
In the Oslo hand OA cohort, higher BMI was not related to hand OA progression.
National Advisory Unit on Rehabilitation in Rheumatology, Diakonhjemmet Hospital , Oslo , Norway.
K
K
Magnusson
B
B
Slatkowsky-Christensen
D
D
van der Heijde
T K
TK
Kvien
K B
KB
Hagen
I K
IK
Haugen
D000368:Aged; D018771:Arthralgia / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D015992:Body Mass Index; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D050823:Hand Joints; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D016014:Linear Models; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009664:Norway / Q000453:epidemiology; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications; D010003:Osteoarthritis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012307:Risk Factors