Baseline characteristics of the patients according to the presence of vertebral and fragility fractures
| Overall (n=127) | VF (n=21) | Without VF (n=105) | P value | Any FF (n=36) | Without FF (n=91) | P value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years, mean±SD) | 61.5±17.9 | 68.0±12.8 | 60.1±18.6 | 0.02 | 66.7±12.7 | 59.4±19.3 | 0.01 |
| Gender (F/M, n) | 80/47 | 13/8 | 67/38 | 1 | 26/10 | 54/37 | 0.25 |
| Menopause, n (%) | 58 (72.5) | 13 (100) | 45 (67.2) | 0.02 | 24 (92.3) | 34 (63.0) | 0.01 |
| BMI (kg/m2, mean±SD) | 26.7±4.6 | 27.4±3.9 | 26.6±4.8 | 0.45 | 27.9±3.9 | 26.3±4.9 | 0.07 |
| Autoimmune disease duration (months, mean±SD) | 61.9±98.8 | 63.4±84.1 | 62.0±102.1 | 0.95 | 65.7±87.8 | 60.4±103.2 | 0.5 |
| Osteoporosis risk factors | |||||||
| Current smoking,n (%) | 14 (11) | 4 (19.1) | 10 (9.5) | 0.17 | 4 (11.1) | 10 (11) | 0.985 |
| Alcohol≥3 units/day, n (%) | 1 (0.8) | 0 (0) | 1 (0.95) | 1 | 0 (0) | 1 (1.1) | 0.735 |
| Fractured hip in parents, n (%) | 16 (12.8) | 4 (20.0) | 12 (11.5) | 0.29 | 5 (14.3) | 11 (12.2) | 0.77 |
| Treatment | |||||||
| Current GC dose (mg/day, mean±SD) | 14.5±14.1 | 14.9±16.3 | 14.4±13.8 | 0.89 | 12.8±13.7 | 15.1±14.3 | 0.4 |
| GC treatment duration (months, mean±SD) | 47.7±68.9 | 55.4±81.8 | 46.4±66.5 | 0.60 | 62.2±86.3 | 41.9±60.2 | 0.29 |
| Cumulative GC dose (g, mean±SD) | 12.7±14.8 | 13.4±12.9 | 12.6±15.2 | 0.17 | 16.6±18.4 | 11.1±12.9 | 0.046 |
| Intravenous GC boluses, n (%) | 43 (33.9) | 12 (57.1) | 31 (29.5) | 0.03 | 15 (41.6) | 28 (30.8) | 0.34 |
| Immunosuppressant agents, n (%) | 51 (40.2) | 10 (47.6) | 56 (53.3) | 0.81 | 19 (53) | 48 (53) | 1 |
| BMD | |||||||
| Lumbar spine T-score (mean±SD)* | −0.84±1.73 | −1.62±0.37 | −0.67±0.16 | 0.02 | −1.45±1.34 | −0.61±1.74 | 0.01 |
| Femoral neck T-score (mean±SD)* | −1.38±0.99 | −1.75±0.21 | −1.30±0.09 | 0.053 | −1.50±0.83 | −1.33±0.96 | 0.36 |
| Total hip T-score (mean±SD)* | −1.10±1.05 | −1.51±0.22 | −1.02±0.10 | 0.04 | −1.26±0.96 | −1.05±0.99 | 0.3 |
| Densitometric osteoporosis, n (%) | 37 (29.1) | 8 (38) | 29 (28) | 0.48 | 13 (36.1) | 24 (26.4) | 0.38 |
| TBS | |||||||
| TBS (mean±SD)* | 1.22±0.18 | 1.119±0.030 | 1.237±0.013 | <0.001 | 1.175±0.173 | 1.233±0.123 | 0.04 |
| Degraded microarchitecture, n (%) | 66 (52) | 16 (76) | 49 (47) | 0.02 | 25 (69.4) | 41 (45.1) | 0.02 |
| Fractures | |||||||
| Patients with VF, n (%) | 21 (16.6) | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Patients with any fragility fracture, n (%) | 36 (28.3) | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| FRAX risk | |||||||
| FRAX for major OP fracture (in patients ≥40 years old) | 10.8±10.1% | 17.2±16.0 | 9.3±7.6 | 0.003 | 15.7±14.2 | 8.5±6.4 | 0.0002 |
| FRAX for hip fracture (in patients ≥40 years old) | 4.9±8.3% | 9.3±14.9 | 3.9±5.6 | 0.13 | 7.7±12.9 | 3.6±4.4 | 0.01 |
| Biochemical parameters | |||||||
| GFR (mL/min, mean±SD)† | 77.6±17.8 | 81.4±5.1 | 90.0±2.7 | 0.005 | 86.1±4.1 | 89.8±2.9 | 0.73 |
| ESR (mm/hour, mean±SD) | 21.5±22.7 | 30.1±34.3 | 19.9±19.5 | 0.23 | 25.8±28.2 | 19.9±20.0 | 0.27 |
| CRP (mg/dL, mean±SD) | 0.8±1.5 | 1.2±2.0 | 0.7±1.4 | 0.09 | 1.2±1.8 | 0.7±1.4 | 0.045 |
| PINP (ng/mL) | 33.1±23.3 | 30.2±21.3 | 33.7±23.8 | 0.40 | 31.7±30.1 | 33.6±20.1 | 0.22 |
| CTx (ng/mL) | 0.34±0.2 | 0.39±0.3 | 0.34±0.2 | 0.38 | 0.34±0.3 | 0.35±0.2 | 0.30 |
| 25-hydroxyvitamin D (ng/mL) | 27.6±15.4 | 26.4±15.4 | 28.0±15.5 | 0.60 | 28.8±13.5 | 27.1±16.1 | 0.34 |
| Low testosterone values (<250 ng/dL; in men, %) | 8 (18.6%) | 4 (57.1%) | 4 (11.4%) | 0.02 | 4 (44.4%) | 4 (11.8%) | 0.046 |
*Age- and BMI-adjusted values.
†Age-adjusted values.
BMD, bone mineral density; BMI, body mass index; CTx, C-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen; CRP, C reactive protein; ESR, erythrocyte sedimentation rate; FF, fragility fracture; F, female; GC, glucocorticoid; GFR, glomerular filtration rate; M, male; OP, osteoporotic; PINP, procollagen type I N-terminal propeptide; TBS, trabecular bone score; VF, vertebral fractures.
Bold values denote statistical significance at the p <0.05 level.