Inflammatory disease as a risk factor for fractures

An Italian cohort study in women with inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis  discovered an increased fracture risk that was not associated with the use of corticosteroids.

“We all know that glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis is the most common form of secondary osteoporosis and is associated with an increased risk of fragility fracture,” stated Dr Giovanni Adami (University of Verona, Italy) [1]. “Nonetheless, we use glucocorticoids in several inflammatory diseases and, currently, the independent role of the inflammation or glucocorticoid use on fracture risk in such patients is still unknown,” he continued to explain the motivation for the current retrospective, observational cohort study.

Data was collected from the Italian web-based nationwide tool for fracture risk assessment, DeFRAcalc [2]. The analysis was performed by propensity score matching in a cohort of 59,950 women, ~10,000 of them suffering from comorbidities including rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), psoriatic arthritis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and neurologic diseases [1]. Among these, SLE and RA were most commonly linked to the use of glucocorticoids.

The mean age of study subjects was 65.1 in those not taking glucocorticoids and 65.3 in the group that took ≥5 mg of the glucocorticoid prednisone for >3 months. The BMI in these 2 groups was 24.19 and 24.92, respectively. The analysis was adjusted for age, bone mineral density, menopausal status, and family history of fragility fractures. The overall risk of vertebral or hip fracture had an adjusted odds ratio (aOR) of 1.56 for patients using glucocorticoids for >3 months compared with non-users. Interestingly, even for participants <40 years of age with >3 months of glucocorticoid use, this fracture risk was increased by ~30% (aOR 1.31). For non-vertebral/non-hip fractures the all-age aOR was about 1.24.

Furthermore, independent associations for fractures and certain diseases were identified: COPD and neurological disease were linked to both vertebral and non-vertebral fractures, while RA was associated with non-vertebral, non-hip fractures. These associations were independent of bone mineral density and glucocorticoid intake. The results indicate the deleterious effects that systemic inflammation may exert on the bone.

1. Adami G, et al. Risk of Fracture in Patients with Different Glucocorticoid Requiring Diseases. P0120, ACR Convergence 2020, 5-9 Nov.
2. https://defra-osteoporosi.it/

Posted on 18 January 202117 May 2024