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Osteoarthritis in finger joints predicts heart death in men
January 14, 2003Osteoarthritis in any finger joint is a forewarning of death from heart disease in men, finds Finnish research in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. Osteoarthritis in the fingers of both hands was an indicator of shortened life expectancy in women, the study found.
The researchers assessed the prevalence of osteoarthritis in a representative sample of more than 7,000 Fins aged 30 and above at the end of the 1970s. Of these, over 3,500 were monitored after x-rays were taken of their hands.
Four out of 10 people had evidence of osteoarthritis in any finger joint, and one in 8 had evidence of the disease in at least two distal joints in the same fingers of both hands. Obesity doubled the risk of osteoarthritis, but being older was also a risk factor.
Heavy physical work was a significant risk factor in women, but not in men, possibly, say the authors, because women have inherently weaker joint cartilage than men and are therefore more susceptible to the effects of joint wear and tear.
By 1994, 897 people had died. Irrespective of the risk factors involved in developing the disease, men who had osteoarthritis in any finger joint were over 40% more likely to die of heart disease. Women's risk of premature death increased by 23% if they had osteoarthritis in at least two distal joints in the same fingers of both hands.
The authors say that there is no obvious explanation for these gender or site specific differences, although the overall link between osteoarthritis and shortened lifespan could be due to the pain and consequent impact on lifestyle made by the disease.
British Medical Journal (BMJ)
Arthritis Current Events and Arthritis News RSSAdult stem cell breakthrough
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Study Investigates Non-Surgical Placement of a Gore-tex Type Device in the Heart to Stop Recurrent Strokes and Mini-Strokes
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New research, just published by researchers from the University of Georgia, provides the first evidence that a key gene may be crucial to maintaining the production of the thymus and its disease-fighting T-cells after an animal's birth.
New therapeutic target identified for rheumatoid arthritis
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MRI Can Eliminate Unnecessary Surgery for Children with Suspected Musculoskeletal Infections
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Fibromyalgia can no longer be called the 'invisible' syndrome
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Type-1 diabetes not so much bad genes as good genes behaving badly, Stanford research shows
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Elderly fare better when included in decisions on treatment trade-offs
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