# Relationship between hand osteoarthritis severity and serum resistin levels in women with metabolic syndrome: a case-control study

## TL;DR

This study found no link between metabolic syndrome and hand osteoarthritis severity or serum resistin levels in women.

## Contribution

It is novel to investigate the relationship between metabolic syndrome, resistin levels, and hand osteoarthritis severity in women.

## Key findings

- No significant differences in pain severity, function, disability, or resistin levels were found between groups.
- Structural damage was more severe in women with hand OA but without metabolic syndrome.
- Metabolic syndrome did not influence the severity of hand osteoarthritis or resistin levels.

## Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between clinical and radiological hand osteoarthritis (OA) severity and serum resistin levels in women diagnosed with metabolic syndrome (MetS).

This research was designed as a case-control study. A total of 87 women, aged 50–65 years, were evaluated between January to March 2014, comprising 29 patients diagnosed with MetS and hand OA (MetS (+), hand OA (+); group 1), 29 patients without MetS but with hand OA (MetS (−), hand OA (+); group 2), and 29 healthy controls (MetS (−), hand OA (−); group 3). The diagnostic criteria of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) for hand OA and National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP-ATP III) for MetS were used. The presence and severity of pain were evaluated according to the Likert scale, function by measuring grip and pinch strength, the presence of disability by Duruöz hand score (DHS), and structural damage by the Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI) atlas classification.

There were no significant differences between the three groups in terms of the presence and severity of pain, functional assessment parameters, disability scores, and serum resistin levels. Structural damage was more severe in group 2. No significant association was found between the serum resistin levels and pain severity, functional assessment parameters, disability scores, hand OA findings (total number of tender joints, the total number of nodules, etc.), and structural damage.

MetS did not contribute to clinical and radiological hand OA severity. Serum resistin levels were not higher in patients with MetS and had no effect on hand OA severity.