RESEARCH - Women With RA More Likely to Develop Osteoporosis

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Imaginis.com Osteoporosis News

(dateline May 3, 2000)

Women With Rheumatoid Arthritis More Likely to Develop Osteoporosis

A new study shows that women who have rheumatoid arthritis, a condition

in which the immune system attacks its own joint tissue, may be twice as

likely to develop osteoporosis compared with healthy women. Osteoporosis is

a degenerative bone disease affecting one third of post-menopausal women.

According to researchers, women with rheumatoid arthritis are at a high risk

of developing osteoporosis and those who use steroid drugs to help control

the arthritis are at an even higher risk of bone loss.

The study, published in the March 2000 issue of Arthritis and

Rheumatism, followed 394 women with rheumatoid arthritis between the ages of

20 and 70. They found significant reductions in bone mineral density in the

394 women compared with healthy American and European women. The average

reduction in bone mineral density among rheumatoid arthritis patients was

27.6% in the femoral neck, 31.6% in the total hip, and 19.6% in part of the

spine. Older women (between 60 and 70 years old) were more likely to have

reductions in bone mineral density at all three sites (the neck, hip, and

spine).

According to Saag, MD, all women with rheumatoid arthritis are

at a very high risk of developing osteoporosis: twice as high as healthy

women. Furthermore, the use of steroids to control rheumatoid arthritis put

women at an even higher risk. The highest frequency of reduced bone mineral

density occurred in patients who used prednisone, a certain type of steroid

used to treat rheumatoid arthritis.

Researchers say that women with rheumatoid arthritis should be

routinely screened for osteoporosis. Currently, less than 15% of rheumatoid

arthritis patients on prednisone have bone mineral density tests . Dr. Saag

advises women with rheumatoid arthritis to ask their physicians about

beginning osteoporosis screening exams, especially if they are older and are

taking prednisone.

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic disease that can cause pain,

stiffness, and inflammation of the joints. Researchers are still unsure of

the exact cause of rheumatoid arthritis but believe it may be a combination

of genetic factors, an abnormal autoimmune response, and a viral infection.

It is estimated that 2.5 million Americans suffer from rheumatoid arthritis,

60% of them women.

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Mayo Clinic in Rochester

http://www.mayoclinic.org/rochester

s Hopkins Medicine

http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org