As hand joints are non-weight bearing, the association between overweight and hand osteoarthritis (HOA) is critical to understanding how overweight may associate with osteoarthritis (OA) apart from axial load. Overweight might be associated with the occurrence of OA through other metabolic factors.AIM: To evaluate the role of overweight in HOA, cross-sectional data of a population-based study were used (>or =55 years, n = 3585)