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Time for new outcome measures in hand osteoarthritis?

Nature Reviews Rheumatology volume 5, pages 136–138 (2009)Cite this article

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most prevalent musculoskeletal disease and a leading cause of disability worldwide.1 The prevalence of hand OA is only slightly lower than that of knee OA. In the European Union, it is estimated that, by 2030, around 150 million individuals will be affected by radiographic hand OA, and more than 15 million will suffer from symptomatic hand OA.1 The capacity to work is significantly altered by hand OA.2 This disease has an impact on quality of life similar to that of rheumatoid arthritis, and an even greater impact in terms of pain and general health.3 Pain, swelling, stiffness, deformity and gradual loss of function are the main clinical features of hand OA.4 Hand OA is a marker of generalized OA;5 in fact, patients initially presenting with hand OA have an increased risk of subsequently developing knee OA (odds ratio 1.6) and hip OA (odds ratio 3.0), over the next 6.5 years.6 Unfortunately, therapy for hand OA is limited to treating the symptoms.7 Despite recent recommendations on the conduct of clinical trials in hand OA, few therapeutic trials have been specifically conducted in hand OA (around 45 randomized controlled trials).8

The tools used to assess outcomes in hand OA in trials are limited in several respects. Furthermore, from the patient's perspective, these measures do not take into account several critical domains. In this Viewpoint article, we will discuss the relative strengths and weaknesses of some of the most widely used outcome measures of hand OA, and highlight why the development of new and existing outcome measures is needed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. E Maheu is an Assistant in Rheumatology, Saint-Antoine Hospital, Paris, France.,

    Emmanuel Maheu

  2. F Berenbaum is Professor and Director of the Department of Rheumatology at Saint-Antoine Hospital, Paris, France.,

    Francis Berenbaum

Authors
  1. Emmanuel Maheu
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  2. Francis Berenbaum
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Correspondence to Francis Berenbaum.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Maheu, E., Berenbaum, F. Time for new outcome measures in hand osteoarthritis?. Nat Rev Rheumatol 5, 136–138 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncprheum1021

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