Systemic Lupus Erythematosus as a Risk Factor of Osteoporosis

Overview

The nature of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and the applied treatment are associated withnumber of risk factors of osteoporosis. Hitherto published work provides some inconsistent resultsas regards the influence of the disease on values of bone mineral density (BMD), as compared withthe healthy population, and the evaluation of the severity of different risk factors. The submittedwork compared the BMD of SLE patients with the BMD of healthy controls and evaluated theinfluence of a priori defined variables on BMD values of patients suffering from SLE. The authorsexamined 61 patients (52 women with regular menstruation, 9 men) who met the criteria of SLEaccording to ACR. SLE proved to be a significant risk factor of reduced BMD, practically at allassessed sites, in men and women. Different risk factors were analyzed in the subgroup of womenwith SLE. The universal risk factor for a decline of BMD was the cumulative dose of corticosteroidswhich exerted the most potent effect on the total-body mineral content. In the lumbar spinemoreover a negative role was played by arthritis, in the cortical bone of the proximal femur theduration of the disease played also a highly significant role. The results of biochemical examinationsas potential predictors of a decline of BMD revealed only partial correlations of limited clinicalimportance. SLE is a serious multisystemic disease which leads to reduced BMD.

Key words:
systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), bone mineral density (BMD), osteoporosis, riskfactors of osteoporosis