Hand osteoarthritis (OA) poses a substantial burden overall and in sociodemographic and clinical subgroups, a recent study found. To this end, increased use of public health and clinical interventions is needed to address its impact. Data were obtained from 2,218 adult subjects (aged ≥45 years) in the Johnston County Osteoarthritis Project, a population-based prospective cohort study among residents of Johnston County, NC. Data for the present study were collected from 2 of the follow-up cycles (1999–2004 and 2005–2010). Researchers found:

• Overall, the lifetime risk of symptomatic hand OA was 39.8%.
• In this population, nearly 1 in 2 women (47.2%) had an estimated lifetime risk of developing symptomatic hand OA by age 85, compared with 1 in 4 men (24.6%).
• Race-specific symptomatic hand OA risk estimates were 41.4% among whites and 29.2% among African Americans.
• The lifetime risk of symptomatic hand OA among individuals with obesity (47.1%) was 11 percentage points higher than that in individuals without obesity (36.1%).