First AD

Second AD

A 56-year-old woman presents to your office with persistent pain and tenderness in both hands on palpation. Her body mass index (BMI) is 37 kg/m

, and her blood pressure is 135/85 mm Hg. A workup reveals that the patient has erosive osteoarthritis of the hand.

B. High blood pressure and poor mental health

C. Lower educational status and having familial OA

A number of factors have been shown to correlate with pain in knee OA, such as high BMI and depression. However, few comorbid conditions have been associated with structural changes that might influence the pain of hand OA. In a Norwegian population-based study, diabetes was strongly associated with hand pain and joint tenderness in patients with erosive hand OA.

Inflammatory and structural features, such as synovitis, were associated with hand pain in erosive hand OA, but only factors outside the joint explained the variance in non-erosive hand OA.

Factors associated with a greater number of tender joints included female sex, widespread pain, poor mental health, greater synovitis, radiographic changes, and diabetes.

Magnusson K1, Hagen KB, OsterÃ¥s N, et al. 

Diabetes is associated with increased hand pain in erosive hand osteoarthritis - data from a population-based study. 

2014 Sep 3. doi: 10.1002/acr.22460. [Epub ahead of print]

Pain

A 56-year-old woman presents with persistent pain and tenderness in both hands. A workup reveals she has erosive osteoarthritis. Which factors are most strongly associated with increased pain?

Osteoarthritis and Pain Go Hand in Hand