Hand and heart, hand in hand: is radiological hand osteoarthritis associated with atherosclerosis?

Increasing evidence suggests that atherosclerosis contributes to the initiation or progression of osteoarthritis (OA). It has been suggested that atherosclerosis may cause vascular insufficiency which may lead to or progress OA. In this study, the association between the severity of radiologic hand OA and atherosclerosis was analyzed in women.

Sixty-one women, ≥ 50 years of age, free of hand symptoms were enrolled in the study. Postero-anterior views of both hands were obtained using digital radiography. A total of 14 joints were assessed for radiographic OA according to Kellgren/Lawrence (K/L) score. An OA-affected joint was defined as K/L score of ≥ 2. Hand OA was defined as ≥ 3 joints of both hands affected with OA and severity of hand OA was defined as total K/L scores of all 14 joints of both hands. Gensini scoring was used to evaluate the patients for atherosclerosis severity.

The patient characteristics such as presence of diabetes, smoking, hypertension, dyslipidemia and medications used were similar for patients with and without hand OA (P > 0.05) and did not correlate with Gensini or hand OA scores. The mean Gensini scores of patients with hand OA was 21.5 ± 17.1 and without hand OA was 11.8 ± 9.2 (P = 0.017). The degree of osteoarthritic joint involvement and Gensini scores showed a positive correlation (r = 0.332, P = 0.009).

Hand OA may be a benign clinical finding that may suggest a possible serious underlying atherosclerosis. Patients with significant hand OA should be screened for atherosclerosis to prevent serious coronary artery disease and related comorbidities.