Does generalised articular hypermobility predispose to generalised osteoarthritis?

Three elderly female patients are reported who had constitutional hypermobility with associated osteoarthritis; none had extensive involvement of either their inter-phalangeal joints or hips. The findings in these cases suggest that osteoarthritis occurring in hypermobile subjects has a restricted rather than a generalised distribution. Osteoarthritis seen in the elderly may be the result of differing mechanisms at different anatomical sites, and articular hypermobility may be a predisposing factor in only a limited number of joints.