Biopsychosocial Determinants of Hand Function and Its Trajectories Over Five Years in Patients With Hand Osteoarthritis
- 1Department of Rheumatology Leiden University Medical Center Leiden the Netherlands
- 2Department of General Practice Erasmus MC University Medical Center Rotterdam the Netherlands
- 3Department of Clinical Epidemiology Leiden University Medical Center Leiden the Netherlands
Abstract
Objective: This study aimed to investigate hand function trajectories over five years in primary hand osteoarthritis (OA). Additionally, determinants of baseline and longitudinal hand function were assessed.
Methods: A total of 538 patients with both baseline and five‐year study visits were analyzed. Annual data of the Australian/Canadian Osteoarthritis Hand Index (AUSCAN) function subscale (range 0–36) from the Hand Osteoarthritis in Secondary Care study were used. Latent Class Growth Analysis (LCGA) identified hand function trajectories. Baseline and longitudinal associations with hand function were assessed using multivariable linear and multinomial logistic regression.
Results: There were 538 patients (86.1% women; mean age 61.0 years) with a mean AUSCAN function 15.6 (SD 8.4; range 0–36; higher scores indicate worse hand function) included. Multivariable analysis showed that hand function was cross‐sectionally associated with AUSCAN pain, grip strength, hand mobility, and the illness perception consequences. In 301 patients with five‐year follow‐up data, four hand function trajectories emerged. The worst trajectories were defined by baseline function scores of 23.69 (95% confidence interval [CI] 22.04–25.61) with a slope of 0.36 (95% CI 0.03–0.69) and 16.87 (95% CI 15.41–18.34) with a slope of 0.38 (95% CI 0.01–0.74) and deteriorated over five years (mean decrease of respectively 1.82 and 1.88). Deteriorating trajectories were associated with structural damage and the illness perception chronicity of disease.
Conclusion: Hand function varies greatly in patients with hand OA. LCGA identified four longitudinal patient groups, of which two showed an unfavorable course of hand function over five years. Hand function was characterized by disease characteristics, including structural damage and psychosocial determinants.
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BibTeX
@article{meule2026biopsychosocial,
title = {{Biopsychosocial Determinants of Hand Function and Its Trajectories Over Five Years in Patients With Hand Osteoarthritis}},
author = {Annemiek V. E. M. Olde Meule and Coen van der Meulen and Jos Runhaar and Frits R. Rosendaal and Margreet Kloppenburg},
journal = {Arthritis Care \& Research},
year = {2026},
month = may,
doi = {10.1002/acr.80055},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1002/acr.80055},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Biopsychosocial Determinants of Hand Function and Its Trajectories Over Five Years in Patients With Hand Osteoarthritis
AU - Annemiek V. E. M. Olde Meule
AU - Coen van der Meulen
AU - Jos Runhaar
AU - Frits R. Rosendaal
AU - Margreet Kloppenburg
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/05/12
JO - Arthritis Care & Research
DO - 10.1002/acr.80055
UR - https://doi.org/10.1002/acr.80055
AB - Objective: This study aimed to investigate hand function trajectories over five years in primary hand osteoarthritis (OA). Additionally, determinants of baseline and longitudinal hand function were assessed. Methods: A total of 538 patients with both baseline and five‐year study visits were analyzed. Annual data of the Australian/Canadian Osteoarthritis Hand Index (AUSCAN) function subscale (range 0–36) from the Hand Osteoarthritis in Secondary Care study were used. Latent Class Growth Analysis (LCGA) identified hand function trajectories. Baseline and longitudinal associations with hand function were assessed using multivariable linear and multinomial logistic regression. Results: There were 538 patients (86.1% women; mean age 61.0 years) with a mean AUSCAN function 15.6 (SD 8.4; range 0–36; higher scores indicate worse hand function) included. Multivariable analysis showed that hand function was cross‐sectionally associated with AUSCAN pain, grip strength, hand mobility, and the illness perception consequences. In 301 patients with five‐year follow‐up data, four hand function trajectories emerged. The worst trajectories were defined by baseline function scores of 23.69 (95% confidence interval [CI] 22.04–25.61) with a slope of 0.36 (95% CI 0.03–0.69) and 16.87 (95% CI 15.41–18.34) with a slope of 0.38 (95% CI 0.01–0.74) and deteriorated over five years (mean decrease of respectively 1.82 and 1.88). Deteriorating trajectories were associated with structural damage and the illness perception chronicity of disease. Conclusion: Hand function varies greatly in patients with hand OA. LCGA identified four longitudinal patient groups, of which two showed an unfavorable course of hand function over five years. Hand function was characterized by disease characteristics, including structural damage and psychosocial determinants.
SN - 2151-464X
SN - 2151-4658
ER -