The length of your fingers may be a clue to your odds of developing osteoarthritis later in life, a new study suggests.
Lead researcher Yuanyuan Wang, M.D., and colleagues from Monash University examined photos of the hands of 14,511 people and found the rate of total knee and hip replacement surgery — tied to arthritis — between 2001 and 2011 was far greater in people whose ring fingers were longer than their index fingers.
Dr. Wang said the findings support the belief that hormonal factors play a role in the origin, development, and effects of osteoarthritis, and possibly account for gender differences in the prevalence of the sometimes debilitating condition.
The findings, published in the journal Rheumatology, indicated a total of 580 knee replacements and 499 hip replacements were reported among the middle-aged and elderly participants evaluated.
"The underlying mechanisms for the association warrant further investigation," the researchers concluded.
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