Kienböck’s Disease in Women

Abstract

We examined 133 patients with Kienböck’s disease, five of whom had bilateral disease. There were 47 women and 86 men. The mean age of patients was 42.7 years (range, 14–80 years). The frequencies of involvement of the right and left sides were approximately equal for women, but male patients tended to have right wrist joint involvement. The side of the affected wrist in the female group differed significantly from that in the male group. The age at onset for women was significantly higher than that for men. The percentage of manual workers was significantly lower among women than among men. The characteristics of Kienböck’s disease in women differed from those in men and those previously reported for this disease. These findings suggest that the pathogenesis of Kienböck’s disease in women differs from that in men.