Long fingers link to increased risk of arthritis
Publication Date:04/01/2008
Introduction
The length of your fingers could predict your chances of getting arthritis in later life, researchers have found. In women especially, if your ring finger is longer than your index finger, you have a bigger chance of getting osteoarthritis of the knee.
What do we know already?
Look at your hand: if you're a man, chances are your ring finger (third finger) is longer than your index finger (first finger). If you're a woman, the fingers are probably about the same length. This difference between men and women has fascinated researchers for years.
Researchers think the difference may be due to how much testosterone a baby is exposed to in the womb. And various researchers have linked this difference in finger length to a range of personality traits. For example, previous research has shown that people with a long ring finger tend to do better at sport, have more of the male hormone testosterone and less of the female hormone oestrogen. A longer ring finger has also been linked with a more masculine face shape, better performance in exams and a higher number of sexual partners.
This is the first time that researchers have looked at the whether the relative lengths of the index and ring fingers is linked in any way to the risk of osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis. It causes joint pain and stiffness, especially in older people.
What does the new study say?
The new study has found that people whose ring finger is longer than their index finger are nearly twice as likely to get osteoarthritis of the knee as those with other finger lengths. Women with longer ring fingers were at greatest risk: they were nearly three times as likely to get osteoarthritis of the knee as women with longer index fingers.
Tell me more about the study's findings
The researchers looked at the finger lengths of more than 2,000 people who were waiting for surgery for osteoarthritis of the knee or hip, and more than 1,000 people who were having hospital tests for another condition (not osteoarthritis). Everyone's fingers were measured in three different ways and they all had X-rays of the knees and hips to check for osteoarthritis.
The researchers looked at many other things that increase a person's risk of getting osteoarthritis, such as their age and weight, whether they had any joint injuries and not getting very much exercise. They found that even after taking these other factors into account, longer ring finger length still predicted who had osteoarthritis of the knee.
Where does the study come from?
The study was done by researchers at the University of Nottingham. It was published in a journal called Arthritis and Rheumatism.
How reliable are the findings?
There are a few drawbacks to this study. People were asked to remember how much exercise they had taken in the past, as part of their jobs and in their leisure time, and they may not have remembered this accurately. The people in the study who had osteoarthritis all had quite severe disease, and the results may not apply to the general population.
What does this mean for me?
This study is of special interest to researchers working in the area of osteoarthritis. It may lead to more research that may help to explain what happens in the body that leads to osteoarthritis in some people and not in others.
What should I do now?
Obviously, you can't do anything about the relative lengths of your ring and index fingers. However, you do have control of some other things that affect the risk of osteoarthritis. For example, being overweight is an important risk factor for osteoarthritis of the knee and the hip, so keeping to a healthy weight can help to protect you. Even if you have already been diagnosed with osteoarthritis, being overweight can increase the chances that your condition will progress. Doing some form of exercise, such as walking, swimming or cycling, can help you stay fit and reduce pain and disability if you have osteoarthritis of the hip.
From:
Zhang W, Robertson J, Doherty S, et al Index to ring finger length ratio and the risk of osteoarthritis. Arthritis and Rheumatism 2008;58:137-144.
To learn more, see our information on osteoarthritis.
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