Gender differences in carpal height ratio in a taiwanese population

To discover whether there is a significant difference in carpal height ratio (CHR) between men and women aged 20 to 50 years.

We retrospectively reviewed 261 cases of normal plain wrist radiographs and measured the CHR using the Picture Achieving and Communication System. Each case was then stratified by gender and age (20-29, 30-39, and 40-50 y).

The mean CHR was 0.52 +/- 0.03 for men (range, 0.43-0.59), 0.50 +/- 0.03 for women (range, 0.43-0.57), and 0.51 +/- 0.03 for the total population (range, 0.43-0.59). The difference in CHR between men and women was statistically significant (p<.01). However, there was no significant difference (p=.13) among age groups in either men or women.

We recommend using gender-specific norms (ie, 0.52 +/- 0.03 for men and 0.50 +/- 0.03 for women, respectively) for CHR. Without gender specification, a subtle abnormality may be overlooked in men, and there may be an overdiagnosis of carpal disorder in women. Further investigations are needed to look into possible racial differences, because our study is based on a homogeneous ethnic Chinese population.