Association between weather features and symptoms in hand osteoarthritis: Results from the DIGICOD cohort

This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the association between weather and joint symptoms in patients with hand osteoarthritis (HOA).

We used baseline data from the DIGICOD cohort, a monocentric cohort of patients with HOA, and meteorological measurements (temperature, humidity, barometric pressure) in the Paris region during the 72 ​h before inclusion in the cohort. Clinical outcomes were AUSCAN subscores (pain, stiffness, function), spontaneous and pressure tender joint count (TJC), visual analog scale (VAS) score for hand pain during activity and at rest, and the Functional Index for Hand Osteoarthritis score. We used logistic regression models to search for associations between meteorological measurements and clinical outcomes, adjusting for sex, age, Kellgren-Lawrence score and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale score.

We analyzed data for 377 patients (mean age 66.5 ​± ​7.4 years, 85 ​% female). The AUSCAN-pain subscale score was not significantly associated with temperature, humidity or barometric pressure. Only spontaneous TJC was associated with relative humidity, and TJC at pressure was negatively associated with barometric pressure, both without dose-effect. Pain scores were not associated with temperature, and function and stiffness scores were not associated with any meteorological variable.

This is the first study to investigate in a large cohort the association between meteorological factors and HOA symptoms. Despite a few isolated associations, our results do not clearly support the worsening of hand joint symptom during humid or rainy weather.