Lupus Raises Fracture Risk in Women
Women with lupus experience abnormally high rates of osteoporotic bone fracture, according to a new survey. The reason may be an increased risk of low bone mineral density associated with the disease, say researchers.
In a study led by Dr. Rosalind Ramsey-Goldman, of Northwestern University, Chicago, researchers surveyed 709 women with lupus, comparing their rates of osteoporosis-related bone fracture to those of healthy women of similar age.
According to the investigators, 13.5% of the lupus-affected women reported fractures during the study follow-up period. “Forty-seven percent of events occurred in women less than age 50 or before menopause,” Ramsey-Goldman said this week at a joint meeting of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research and the International Bone and Mineral Society.
“With increased life expectancies in women with lupus, fracture occurrence is a major threat to the health of these women and prevention strategies must be directed towards minimizing fracture occurrence in these patients,” the Northwestern team concluded.
Fracture risk was highest overall for lupus patients between the ages of 18 and 24, the authors report. There were 17 fractures in this age group compared with the usual fracture rate of 1.1 in healthy women of similar age. For women aged 25 to 44, the observed fracture rate in the study group was 39 compared with the usual rate of 12.1, while 33 fractures occurred in women aged 45 to 64, compared with the usual rate of 5.1.
A second study, presented by Doctor of the University of Vienna, Austria, found that women with lupus also have higher-than-average rates of low bone mineral density (a risk factor for osteoporotic fracture) compared with women not affected by the illness.
In their study of 30 female lupus patients, Pietschmann’s team found that only 37% had normal bone mineral density in the lumbar (lower) spine, while just 36% had normal bone mineral density in the femoral neck (part of the thigh bone). The Viennese team detected osteopenia (a precursor to osteoporosis) of either the lumbar spine or femoral neck in 48% and 40% of the women, respectively. Full-blown osteoporosis of the lumbar spine or femoral neck was detected in 15% and 24% of the subjects, respectively.
In an interview with Reuters Health, Pietschmann concurred with the US group that “osteoporosis is a big problem in lupus patients and physicians should be aware of it.”