High prevalence of vertebral deformities in elderly patients with early rheumatoid arthritis.

摘要

Generalised osteoporosis and local bone loss is a well-known complication of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Vertebral fractures are the most common type of osteoporotic fracture and are associated with increased mortality and morbidity.1 The presence of vertebral fractures increases the risk of new vertebral and non-vertebral fractures.2 The prevalence of vertebral deformities in the Dutch population aged over 55 years in women and men is 15% and 12%, respectively.3 For patients with established RA (mean duration 16.6 years), an odds ratio for vertebral deformities of 2.0 was found,4 leading to an expected prevalence of vertebral deformities in elderly RA patients of 30% and 24% for women and men, respectively. As data on vertebral deformities in early RA are scarce, we measured the prevalence of this condition in a cross-sectional study.