Hand Osteoarthritis (HOA) is the most common joint disease that affects the finger joints of older adults. Individuals with HOA have decreased handgrip strength and hand function. People with this condition have difficulties in grasping, gripping, twisting, and turning objects in daily living. As the disease advances structural changes such as loss of normal joint space, osteophyte formation, and bony nodules in people with HOA are common. Several investigators have examined the relationship between hand or body anthropometrics and handgrip strength and hand function in healthy diverse populations; however, no previous studies have investigated this association in people with HOA. The purpose of this thesis was to investigate the relationship between body and hand anthropometrics with hand strength and function in people with HOA, encompassing 2 papers. The first manuscript in this thesis was to describe the relationship between body and hand anthropometric variables with hand strength in people with HOA. In addition, it sought to establish the relative contribution among those variables for hand grip and pinch strengths in people with HOA. The second manuscript in this thesis was to describe the relationship between body and hand anthropometric variables with hand function in people with HOA. Further, it examines how anthropometric and demographic factors in combination explain hand function and health status in people with HOA. Finally, the thesis addresses the implications for the studies, limitations, and conclusions.

Master of Science (MSc)

Thesis