ASSOCIATION OF METACARPAL CORTICAL THICKNESS WITH HAND OA

INTRODUCTION

Metacarpal cortical thickness (MCT), a surrogate for bone density, has been well studied in people with rheumatoid arthritis but much less so for hand OA (HOA).

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the association of MCT with radiographic HOA severity.

METHODS

We performed a software measurement of MTC on the dominant hand radiograph of 3,575 participants from the OAI at the baseline and 48-month visits. Spearman's rank correlation coefficients (rho) were calculated for the association of baseline MTC and 2 measures of baseline HOA severity: the sum of Kellgren and Lawrence (KL) grade and total number of joints with radiographic HOA. Longitudinally, logistic regression with odds ratios were used to assess the relationship of MTC loss to new finger joint radiographic OA and an increase in KL grades. The results were stratified by gender and into two age groups: 45-60 years and > 60 years.

RESULTS

The baseline results are in Table 1, and the longitudinal results are in Table 2. For women, we found a weak correlation between baseline MTC and ROA for ages 45-60 years; the correlation was higher for the > 60 years age group. For MTC change, we found higher odds ratios in women for the 45-60 year group than for the > 60 year group. No significant correlations were seen between MCT and HOA for men either cross-sectionally or longitudinally.

CONCLUSION

We found significant associations between MCT and ROA status in women for both baseline and 48-month change but not for men. The consideration of differences between men and women may have implications for understanding the structural nature of HOA. It may be important in developing targeted interventions to manage symptoms and improve outcomes for affected individuals.