The ageing joint-standard age- and sex-related values of bone erosions and osteophytes in the hand joints of healthy individuals.

Objective: To analyze the age-related changes of the physiological hand joint architecture.

Method: To address this concept, healthy individuals (each 10 women and 10 men in six different age decades spanning from 21 to 80 years) were recruited through a field campaign, investigated for the absence of rheumatic diseases and other comorbidities and received high-resolution quantitative computed tomography (HR-pQCT) examination of the hand joints. Number and extent of erosions and osteophytes were quantified across the ages and different sexes.