Long ring fingers may mean weak knee joints

London, Jan 4 (UNI) Women with long ring fingers may be at greater risk of developing arthritis in their knees, a new study shows.

Researchers from the Nottingham University carried out a study and found women with uncommonly long ring fingers had almost double the risk of osteoarthritis in the knee when compared to those with fingers of similar length.

Typically, women's index and ring fingers are of similar length, and Men have longer ring fingers.

''Specifically, women with the male pattern of length ratio - that is, ring finger relatively longer than the index finger - are more likely to develop knee osteoathritis,''lead researcher Professor Michael Doherty said.

The team analysed the hands of 2,000 arthritis patients and 1,000 without arthritis in their sixties. They took X-rays of both hands of the patients and assessed the length of fingers using various methods.

They found that even after risk factors such as joint injury and a lack of exercise were taken into account, the higher risk of arthritis remained for women with long ring fingers.

This is the first study to examine the relationship between the two fingers and arthritis, the Daily Mail reported.

Earlier, a study revealed that women with a similar finger pattern were more likely to be lesbians, and a study in Canada, in 2005, found that the shorter the index finger the more likely it was that a child would be aggressive.

UNI XC ARB ND1250