Prevalence of joint complaints amongst individuals with Dupuytren's disease--from the Reykjavík study.

It has been reported that Dupuytren's disease is very uncommon amongst patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We investigated the prevalence of different joint complaints in a cohort of 1297 males, aged 46-74 years, participating in a prospective longitudinal health survey. Joint complaints were less frequently observed in men with Dupuytren's disease than in those who did not have any signs of this disease. When adjusted for age the Dupuytren's patients had less frequently history of morning stiffness (odds ratio (OR)=0.65; 95% confidence interval (CI)=0.44-0.98, P=0.04), joint swelling (OR=0.52; 95% CI=0.27-1.00, P=0.05), and attendance to doctors due to rheumatic disorders (OR=0.44; 95% CI=0.15-0.86, P=0.02) than those who did not have clinical signs of Dupuytren's disease. Furthermore, these associations were even stronger after adjustment for other potential confounding factors, such as smoking, lipids, diabetes, education, and occupation. The reason for a negative association between Dupuytren's disease and joint complaints is not clear but genetic and immunological factors may be important.