Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 2014 Sep;66(9):1337-43. doi: 10.1002/acr.22320.
Type 3 finger length pattern (longer fourth digit than second digit) is influenced by prenatal androgens and has been studied previously as a biomarker for sexually dimorphic traits. Because osteoarthritis (OA) and chronic pain are known to be sexually dimorphic traits, we evaluated the association between finger length pattern and OA and chronic joint pain.
This study was part of the Rotterdam Study, a prospective population-based cohort study. We examined 4,784 participants. Associations between type 3 finger length and radiologic knee, hip, and hand OA and chronic joint pain were analyzed using a logistic regression model. Our results for OA were combined with previously published data in a meta-analysis.
Participants with type 3 finger length pattern had an odds ratio of 1.64 for hand OA (P = 1.06 × 10(-7)). No associations with radiologic knee or hip OA were observed in the Rotterdam Study. The meta-analysis of previously published data and our novel data showed a significant association between type 3 finger length pattern and clinical symptomatic knee OA, but no association was found with radiologic knee OA. In addition, within the Rotterdam Study, we observed an odds ratio of 1.41 for individuals having joint pain at multiple sites (P = 1.4 × 10(-3)).
Type 3 finger length pattern, as an indicator of prenatal androgen exposure, was associated with having symptomatic knee OA, chronic pain, and hand OA. Therefore, it may be applicable as an easy measurable biomarker to identify susceptible subjects for these traits.
第三类手指长度模式（第四指比第二指长）受产前雄激素的影响，此前曾被研究作为性二态特征的生物标志物。由于骨关节炎（OA）和慢性疼痛是已知的性二态特征，我们评估了手指长度模式与 OA 和慢性关节疼痛之间的关联。
本研究是 Rotterdam 研究的一部分，这是一项前瞻性的基于人群的队列研究。我们检查了 4784 名参与者。使用逻辑回归模型分析第三类手指长度与放射学膝关节、髋关节和手部 OA 以及慢性关节疼痛之间的关系。我们对 OA 的研究结果与之前发表的数据进行了荟萃分析。
具有第三类手指长度模式的参与者患手部 OA 的优势比为 1.64（P=1.06×10(-7))。在 Rotterdam 研究中未观察到与放射学膝关节或髋关节 OA 的相关性。之前发表的数据和我们新数据的荟萃分析显示，第三类手指长度模式与临床症状性膝关节 OA 之间存在显著关联，但与放射学膝关节 OA 无关。此外，在 Rotterdam 研究中，我们观察到在多个部位有疼痛的个体的优势比为 1.41（P=1.4×10(-3))。
第三类手指长度模式作为产前雄激素暴露的指标，与有症状的膝关节 OA、慢性疼痛和手部 OA 相关。因此，它可能适用于作为一种简单的可测量的生物标志物，以识别这些特征的易感人群。
