Increased frequency of osteoporosis and BMD below the expected range for age among South Korean women with rheumatoid arthritis.
OBJECTIVE
To compare the frequency of osteoporosis and bone mineral density (BMD) below the expected range for age between female patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and healthy subjects and to determine risk factors for bone loss in female patients with RA.


METHODS
Two hundred and ninety-nine patients with RA and 246 age-matched healthy subjects were included in this study. BMD in the lumbar spine, femoral neck and total hip were measured with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. A T-score of -2.5 or lower in postmenopausal women was defined as osteoporosis, and a Z-score -2.0 or lower in females prior to menopause was defined as below the expected range for age.


RESULTS
The frequency of osteoporosis in the RA patients (22.1%) was significantly higher than in healthy subjects (11.4%) at either the spine or hip (P = 0.014). The occurrence of BMD below the expected range for age in RA patients (7.8%) was also significantly higher than in healthy subjects (1.0%, P = 0.015). In 299 female patients with RA, higher age, lower body mass index and postmenopausal status were significantly associated with the lumbar spine and hip BMD reduction. Of disease-related variables, glucocorticoid use was independently associated with reduction of hip BMD.


CONCLUSIONS
The prevalence of osteoporosis in the RA patients was 1.9 times higher than in healthy subjects. Glucocorticoid use was a risk factor for generalized bone loss in female RA patients.
Department of Internal Medicine, Pusan National University School of Medicine, Busan, South Korea.
Seung-Geun
SG
Lee
Young-Eun
YE
Park
Sung-Hoo
SH
Park
Tae-Kyun
TK
Kim
Hyun-Ju
HJ
Choi
Seong-Jun
SJ
Lee
Sung-Il
SI
Kim
Sun-Hee
SH
Lee
Geun-Tae
GT
Kim
Joung-Wook
JW
Lee
Jun-Hee
JH
Lee
Seung-Hoon
SH
Baek
D015502:Absorptiometry, Photon; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000208:ethnology*; D044466:Asian People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015519:Bone Density / Q000187:drug effects; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D005260:Female; D005272:Femur Neck / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000009:adverse effects; D006621:Hip Joint / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D010024:Osteoporosis / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000208:ethnology*; D015995:Prevalence; D056910:Republic of Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D055815:Young Adult
D005938:Glucocorticoids