THE PREVALENCE OF RADIOGRAPHIC OSTEOARTHRITIS IS LOW IN ELDERLY PATIENTS WITH GROWTH-HORMONE DEFICIENCY

The prevalence of radiographic osteoarthritis in hand and knee joints was studied in elderly patients with acromegaly and growth hormone def iciency, respectively, and compared with a normal population of elderl y people. There were no major differences in the prevalence of osteoar thritis between the acromegalics and the normal population, but the pa tients with growth hormone deficiency had significantly (p < 0.001) le ss osteoarthritis than the normal population. The lack of differences between the acromegalics and the normal population could be an effect of the age interval studied in which the prevalence of osteoarthritis is high. The low prevalence of osteoarthritis in patients with growth hormone deficiency suggests that growth hormone is an important factor in the development of osteoarthritis.