Serum uric acid and patterns of radiographic osteoarthritis - the Ulm Osteoarthritis Study

Objective: To assess the association between uric acid and patterns of osteoarthritis (OA). Methods: OA patterns were studied in 809 patients with arthroplasty due to hip or knee OA. Patients with OA were categorized as having bilateral or generalized OA according to the presence of radiographic OA in the contralateral or different finger joints. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for thirds of serum uric acid and OA patterns were estimated with multivariable logistic regression. Results: Eighty-five percent of the participants had bilateral OA and 26% generalized OA. A positive association between serum uric acid and generalized OA was observed in patients with hip OA (highest versus lowest tertile OR=3.5; 95% CI: 1.3-9.1), but not among patients with knee OA (corresponding OR=1.1). Serum uric acid was not associated with bilateral OA. Conclusion: Our results suggest a possible role of elevated serum uric acid in the multifactorial etiology of generalized OA.