Prevalence and incidence of clinically diagnosed knee, hip and hand osteoarthritis in women with polycystic ovary syndrome: A national register-based study

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of arthritis associated with high morbidity and increased risk of early cardiovascular mortality. Obesity is associated with metabolic dysregulation and an increased risk of developing OA even in non-weight bearing joints. Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a very common endocrinology problem among women associated with reproductive and metabolic features, and as a result, these women have increased risk of stroke and thrombosis when compared with a general population. Assessing incidence and prevalence of OA in this group represent a great natural experiment for testing association between metabolic dysregulation and risk of OA. The main objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence and incidence risk of clinically diagnosed OA affecting different site(s) (knee, hip and hand) in PCOS compared to a control population.