Evaluating the Association Between Obesity and Development of Trigger Finger and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Abstract

Purpose

Obesity is known to cause a low-grade inflammatory environment that can influence the development of musculoskeletal disorders. We hypothesized that patients with high body mass index (BMI), defined as ≥30, would develop carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) or stenosing tenosynovitis (TF) earlier than patients with a normal BMI.

Methods

A retrospective chart review was performed for adults diagnosed with CTS or TF between January 2016 and December 2020 at a tertiary center. The primary outcome was age at diagnosis of CTS or TF. A high BMI was considered $\ge$ 30, whereas a normal BMI was 18.5–24.9. A stepwise multivariate linear regression model compared the association of BMI with age of CTS or TF diagnosis after adjusting for accelerating covariates.

Results

In total, 259 patients met the inclusion criteria. Our analysis revealed that patients with a BMI above 30 were diagnosed with CTS or TF an average of 6.4 years earlier than those with a normal BMI, at 67.5 and 61.1 years, respectively (P = .0053). Furthermore, covariate analysis showed that a BMI above 30 was associated with the onset of CTS or TF 6.2 years sooner than patients with normal BMI (P < .05). Current smokers developed CTS or TF 12.5 years sooner than never smokers (P < .05). Patients with type 1 diabetes developed CTS or TF, on average, 18.8 years sooner than nondiabetic patients (P < .05). Patients with hypertension developed CTS or TF on average 6.0 years later than those without hypertension (P < 0.05).

Conclusions

Patients with a high BMI above 30 were diagnosed with CTS or TF at a younger age than normal BMI after covariate adjustment. Obesity is associated with accelerated development of CTS and TF after adjusting for comorbidities such as smoking and type 1 diabetes.

Clinical relevance

This study sheds light on the earlier development of CTS and trigger finger in patients with a BMI greater than 30, contributing to a relatively underexplored area of upper-extremity musculoskeletal pathology research and enabling clinicians with more thorough data for preventative talks with patients.