ArticleArthritis & rheumatology (Hoboken, N.J.)2022
Associations of Body Mass Index With Pain and the Mediating Role of Inflammatory Biomarkers in People With Hand Osteoarthritis.
Article in Arthritis & rheumatology (Hoboken, N.J.), 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 45 papers.
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Who cites it
45 citing papers in PubMed, 62 citations in OpenAlex.
- Association of Pain During Exercise With Exercise-Induced Hypoalgesia in People With Knee Osteoarthritis.Arthritis care & research · 2025Trial
- Serum leptin, adiposity, and their link to symptomatic hand osteoarthritis in individuals with radiological signs - A cross-sectional HALLOA cohort study.Osteoarthritis and cartilage open · 2026Article
- Obesity-Associated Osteoarthritis: Mechanical-Metabolic Pathogenesis, Obesity Memory and Dual-Target Therapy.Current obesity reports · 2026Review
- Association between weight-adjusted waist index and the incidence of low back pain among middle-aged and older adults: a nationwide prospective cohort study in China.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2026Article
- Characterization of Patient-Reported Loin Pain in IgAN.Kidney international reports · 2026Article
- Pathological mechanisms of osteoarthritis in the network of geriatric comorbidities: Emerging insights from organs-crosstalk.Journal of orthopaedic translation · 2026Review
- Gut-Joint Axis: The Role of Exercise on Gut Microbiota and Acetic Acid Modulation in Obesity-Associated Osteoarthritis Rats.Metabolites · 2026Article
- The Association Between Body Mass Index and Acute Postoperative Pain in Bariatric Surgery Patients: A Prospective Cohort Study.Pain and therapy · 2026Article
- The gut-joint axis in osteoarthritis.Nature reviews. Rheumatology · 2026Review
- Article
- The severity of fatigue and its interplay with biological and psychological factors in people with hand osteoarthritis - Results from the Nor-Hand study.Osteoarthritis and cartilage open · 2026Article
- The stability of pain phenotypes in people with hand osteoarthritis - results from the NOR-HAND study.Osteoarthritis and cartilage open · 2026Article
- Osteoarthritis as a systemic disease.Nature reviews. Rheumatology · 2026Review
- Assessment of central pain sensitization in chronic low back pain and its utility in diagnosis and prediction of clinical severity.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Systemic inflammation mediating the relationship between lifestyle factors and musculoskeletal pain: a systematic review.Frontiers in pain research (Lausanne, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Dampened inflammation and reduced risk of osteoarthritis among non-industrialized societies.Osteoarthritis and cartilage · 2026Review
- Prevalence and predictive testing preferences for breast cancer treatment side effects.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2025Article
- Association of BMI with radiographic incidence and progression of distal interphalangeal joint osteoarthritis in rheumatoid arthritis patients.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- The Relationship Between Radiographic Osteoarthritis, Step Counts, and Pain Levels in Patients Undergoing Hip and Knee Arthroplasty.Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Global research & reviews · 2025Article
- Central obesity and radiographic severity are associated with symptomatic hand osteoarthritis: a population-based cross-sectional study.Rheumatology international · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
11 authors at 5 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveTo examine the association of body mass index (BMI) with pain in people with hand osteoarthritis (OA), and explore whether this association, if causal, is mediated by systemic inflammatory biomarkers.
methodsIn 281 Nor-Hand study participants, we estimated associations between BMI and hand pain, as measured by the Australian/Canadian Osteoarthritis Hand Index (AUSCAN; range 0-20) and Numerical Rating Scale (NRS; range 0-10); foot pain, as measured by NRS (range 0-10); knee/hip pain, as measured by the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC; range 0-20); painful total body joint count; and pain sensitization. We fit natural-effects models to estimate natural direct and natural indirect effects of BMI on pain through inflammatory biomarkers.
resultsEach 5-unit increase in BMI was associated with more severe hand pain (on average increased AUSCAN by 0.64 [95% confidence interval (95% CI) 0.23, 1.08]), foot pain (on average increased NRS by 0.65 [95% CI 0.36, 0.92]), knee/hip pain (on average increased WOMAC by 1.31 [95% CI 0.87, 1.73]), generalized pain, and pain sensitization. Mediation analyses suggested that the effects of BMI on hand pain and painful total body joint count were partially mediated by leptin and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), respectively. Effect sizes for mediation by leptin were larger for the hands than for the lower extremities, and were statistically significant for the hands only.
conclusionIn people with hand OA, higher BMI is associated with greater pain severity in the hands, feet, and knees/hips. Systemic effects of obesity, measured by leptin, may play a larger mediating role for pain in the hands than in the lower extremities. Low-grade inflammation, measured by hsCRP, may contribute to generalized pain in overweight/obese individuals.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.