Relationship of Thyroid and Sex Hormones With Osteoarthritis in Postmenopausal Indian Women

Abstract

Background: Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most frequent joint disease encountered in the clinical practice and is the most common cause of movement disability in the elderly. Females are found to have more severe OA, and prevalence and incidence increase after menopause. OA affects all articular tissues and finally leads to joint failure. Many experimental and clinical studies suggest that loss of hormone especially estrogen at the time of menopause increases a woman’s risk of getting OA and use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) did seem to be associated with not only relieving of symptoms but also reduced rate of progression of OA. The aim of this case-control study was to investigate whether the thyroid and sex hormones are associated with OA in postmenopausal Indian women. Methods: One hundred twenty-five patients suffering from OA and 82 control subjects, all aged 45 - 65 years, were included in this study. Thyroid and sex hormones were measured in the serum by ELISA and chemiluminescent immunoassay technique. Results: Mean serum estrogen levels in the OA and control samples were 29.53 ± 3.27 and 49.21 ± 2.18 (P < 0.0001) which were significantly lower in OA patients compared with controls. Also these patients show significant change in thyroid hormones and progesterone hormone levels when compared with control subjects. Conclusion: The findings suggest that estrogen deficiency after menopause may contribute to developing OA in postmenopausal women. Estrogen can render help in such patients but with the current level of evidence, it cannot be recommended as a first-line treatment. J Clin Gynecol Obstet. 2016;5(4):117-120 doi: https://doi.org/10.14740/jcgo410e