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. 2024 Jun 15;25(1):468.
doi: 10.1186/s12891-024-07459-1.

Risk of carpal tunnel syndrome among patients with osteoarthritis: a US population-based study

Shuang Chen  1 , Tina Ho  2 , Julius Asubonteng  2 , Rachel E Sobel  2 , Simon Eng  2 , Stephen J DiMartino  2 , Angelika Manthripragada  2
Affiliations

Risk of carpal tunnel syndrome among patients with osteoarthritis: a US population-based study

Shuang Chen et al. BMC Musculoskelet Disord. .

Abstract

Background: Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), an entrapment neuropathy caused by pressure of the median nerve, is a progressive condition that can lead to a decreased quality of life. Studies suggest an association between CTS and arthritis; however, previous studies examining osteoarthritis (OA) and CTS are limited in number, scope and study design. This study estimated the incidence and risk of CTS among patients with OA, both overall and by specific joints, in a large population-based cohort in the United States.

Methods: Patients from the Optum claims database aged ≥ 45 years and diagnosed with OA between January 1, 2018, and December 31, 2022, were eligible for the OA cohort. The non-OA cohort included those without a diagnosis of OA at the index date and no history of OA for 12 months pre-index. Baseline characteristics were balanced using propensity score matching. The risk of CTS in the OA and non-OA cohort were evaluated using incidence rates and adjusted hazard ratios that were estimated using Cox regression.

Results: After applying the inclusion/exclusion criteria, 3,610,240 of the 6,023,384 adults with a diagnosis of OA remained in the OA cohort. After propensity-score matching, each cohort included 1,033,439 individuals. The incidence rates for CTS per 1000 person-years were 7.35 (95% confidence interval [CI] 7.21-7.49) in the OA cohort and 1.44 (95% CI 1.38-1.50) in the non-OA cohort. The risk of developing CTS in patients with OA was ~ 4 times that of patients without (hazard ratio = 3.80; 95% CI 3.54-4.07). This increased risk was found across all OA joint types, with OA of the hand/wrist having the highest risk for CTS. Additionally, multiple OA joints presented a higher risk compared with a single affected joint.

Conclusions: OA increases the risk of CTS, but this is not limited to patients with hand/wrist OA, suggesting a systemic impact of OA on CTS. While the risk appears highest for patients with hand/wrist OA, patients with more distant affected joints like knee or hip also have an increased risk of CTS.

Keywords: Carpal tunnel syndrome; Incidence rate; Osteoarthritis; Real-world evidence; Risk factors.

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Conflict of interest statement

All authors are Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. employees/shareholders. R.E.S is also a stockholder of Pfizer Inc.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Cohort flow diagram. Patients were included in the OA or non-OA cohort according to the presented criteria. CTS Carpal tunnel syndrome, OA Osteoarthritis, PSM Propensity score matching
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Relative risk of CTS by type of osteoarthritis in propensity score matched cohorts. aIndex OA diagnosis, bPropensity-score weighted HR, cFor any OA, the types of OA are not mutually exclusive. Patients with ≥ 2 index joints were included in more than one category, dOther OA includes elbow, ankle, and foot. CI Confidence interval, CTS Carpal tunnel syndrome, HR Hazard ratio, OA Osteoarthritis
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