Table 2

Diseases and conditions* that were possible or definite causes of hand complaints in the control group (n = 70) in ranked order from most to least prevalent

Cause of complaints, n (%)†
Rheumatoid arthritis26 (37.1)
Other inflammatory rheumatic disease‡17 (24.3)
Fibromyalgia13 (18.6)
Psoriatic arthritis9 (12.9)
Tenosynovitis/trigger finger9 (12.9)
Nerve entrapment (incl. carpal tunnel syndrome)8 (11.4)
Other causes§6 (8.6)
Repetitive strain injury4 (5.7)
Hemochromatosis3 (4.3)
Vitamin D deficiency3 (4.3)
Ganglion2 (2.9)
Gout2 (2.9)
Pseudogout1 (1.4)
deQuervain’s1 (1.4)
Diabetes1 (1.4)
Dupuytren’s contracture1 (1.4)
  • *The list of 16 prespecified diseases and conditions were given to the treating physician, who marked the relevant disease(s) and condition(s) for each patient.

  • †Several persons had more than one cause of hand complaints, and the total percentage in the column is therefore exceeding 100.

  • ‡Unspecified arthritis or unknown (n = 10), scleroderma (n = 3), systemic lupus erythematosus (n = 2), palindromic rheumatoid arthritis (n = 1), spondyloarthritis (n = 1).

  • §Unknown (n = 4), hypermobility (n = 1), erysipelas (n = 1).