Pishgar F, et al. - In order to ascertain the correlations between race (black vs nonblack) and the presence of radiographic, symptomatic, and clinical hand osteoarthritis (OA), researchers performed a propensity score-matched study using osteoarthritis initiative data. Applying the Osteoarthritis Initiative cohort with available hand radiographs (n=4,699, black subjects n=849[18.1%], nonblack subjects n=3,850[81.9%]), propensity score matching method was applied to choose black and nonblack participants matched for known potential hand OA risk factors (age, gender, BMI, smoking status, cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, excessive hand use, and knee OA). The results displayed that odds of hand OA are lower in black vs non-black subjects in contrast to the well-established correlation between black race and knee or hip OA, which is not mediated by known hand OA risk factors. To determine the mediating protective factors for hand OA among the black subjects, further mechanistic works are needed.