Finnish researchers have claimed osteoarthritis in finger joints increases the risk of heart disease...
Finnish researchers have claimed osteoarthritis in finger joints increases the risk of heart disease in men by 40%.
Four out of 10 people in a sample of more than 7,000 men aged over 30 were found to have osteoarthritis at the end of the 1970s.
By 1994, 897 men in the group had died and irrespective of other risk factors, men who had osteoarthritis were found to be over 40% more likely to die of heart disease.
The risk of premature death for women sufferers of osteoarthritis was found to increase by 23% if they had osteoarthritis in at least two distal joints in the same fingers in both hands.
According to a report on the findings, published in the British Medical Journal, the authors said there was no obvious explanation for these gender or site-specific differences, alth-ough the overall link between osteoarthritis and shortened lifespan could be due to the pain and consequent impact on lifestyle made by the disease.
