Abstract
ObjectivesWe assessed whether grip strength was related to various types of radiographic damage in Korean adults with osteoarthritis (OA).MethodsData from 2,251 subjects enrolled in the Dong-gu study, who had no hand joint pain, were analyzed to investigate the relationship between grip strength and OA. Hand grip strength was measured using a hand-held dynamometer, and radiographs of the hand and knee were scored according to a semi-quantitative grading system. Multiple linear regressions were used to explore associations between grip strength and radiographic features of OA.ResultsGrip strength in men and women was negatively related to hand (both p < 0.001) and knee (men, p < 0.001; women, p = 0.010) OA after adjusting for confounders. Hand (men, p < 0.001; women, p = 0.001) and knee (both p < 0.001) joint space narrowing (JSN) showed the strongest associations with low grip strength, regardless of gender. Moreover, the severity of hand osteophytes in women (p = 0.001), and subchondral cysts (men, p < 0.001) was correlated with low grip strength in both genders.ConclusionsAmong subjects without hand joint pain, low grip strength was associated significantly with hand and knee radiographic OA, regardless of gender. Among all types of OA radiographic damage, low grip strength showed the strongest association with JSN.
Highlights
Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common joint disease in older adults; its main symptoms are pain and joint deformation
Among all types of OA radiographic damage, low grip strength showed the strongest association with joint space narrowing (JSN)
Chaisson et al found that subjects with high maximal grip strength were at increased risk for the development of hand OA in a longitudinal study [10]
Summary
Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common joint disease in older adults; its main symptoms are pain and joint deformation. In a study by Dominick et al [6], increasing radiographic severity of hand OA was associated with reduced grip and pinch strength, even after controlling for self-reported pain. The difference in results between cross-sectional study and longitudinal study may have been due to the presence of accompanying hand joint pain in some study subjects; previous studies suggested that hand function was associated with pain and tenderness, rather than with the radiological grade of hand OA [11], and that poor physical function was due to increased pain, which was indirectly associated with increasing severity of radiographic hand OA leading to worse bone mineral density results [12], assessment of the relationship between grip strength and hand OA in the absence of pain is important, as it would demonstrate a one-way effect of hand OA on grip strength
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