The prevalence of radiographic osteoarthritis is low in elderly patients with growth hormone deficiency.

The prevalence of radiographic osteoarthritis in hand and knee joints was studied in elderly patients with acromegaly and growth hormone deficiency, respectively, and compared with a normal population of elderly people. There were no major differences in the prevalence of osteoarthritis between the acromegalics and the normal population, but the patients with growth hormone deficiency had significantly (p < 0.001) less osteoarthritis than the normal population. The lack of differences between the acromegalics and the normal population could be an effect of the age interval studied in which the prevalence of osteoarthritis is high. The low prevalence of osteoarthritis in patients with growth hormone deficiency suggests that growth hormone is an important factor in the development of osteoarthritis.