Osteoarthritis of the hip and other joints in Southern Chinese in Hong Kong

Abstract

A random study of the finger joints, hips and knees of 500 hospitalized Hong Kong Southern Chinese patients above the age of 54 years was carried out in September 1967. Radiographs of the hands, pelvis and knees were obtained in all patients. The first 211 patients (112 men and 99 women) underwent a history and physical examination. 98% of these patients indicated that they regularly used the squatting position, particularly for toileting purposes which involved maximum hip flexion and 10-30 degrees of hip abduction. Among the 211 patients examined, 30% of the men and 31% of the women had evidence of Heberden’s nodes. There was an increase in the presence of Heberden’s nodes with increasing age in both men and women. The prevalence of radiological evidence of moderate and severe OA involving the distal interphalangeal joints was comparable to that of previous British studies. Those Chinese patients who had OA involving their finger joints had a much higher incidence of OA involving other joints when compared to those patients whose finger joints were not involved.