The epidemiology of osteoarthritis of the hand.

The hand is a common site of osteoarthritis. Defining hand OA, particularly for epidemiological studies, has undergone reassessment and revision over the last few years. Although many studies to date have used a system of grading radiographic severity that was developed by Kellgren and Lawrence, there are significant problems with this system. In this paper we consider a number of alternative methods for grading hand OA including a scale which grades the individual joint features separately. Patterns of hand OA as well as the natural history and risk factors are also discussed.