Bone mineral density in patients with psoriatic arthritis: data from the Nord-Trøndelag Health Study 3.

BACKGROUND

The risk of osteoporosis in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) remains unclear. The aim of this study was to compare bone mineral density (BMD) measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) in patients with PsA and controls.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Patients with PsA and controls were recruited from the Nord-Trøndelag Health Study (HUNT) 3.

RESULTS

Patients with PsA (n=69) and controls (n=11 703) were comparable in terms of age (56.8 vs 55.3 years, p=0.32), gender distribution (females 65.2% vs 64.3%, p=0.87) and postmenopausal status (75.6% vs 62.8%, p=0.08). Body mass index (BMI) was higher in patients with PsA compared with controls (28.5 vs 27.2 kg/m, p=0.01). After adjusting for potential confounding factors (including BMI), BMD was higher in patients with PsA compared with controls at lumbar spine 1-4 (1.213 vs 1.147 g/cm, p=0.003) and femoral neck (0.960 vs 0.926 g/cm, p=0.02), but not at total hip (1.013 vs 0.982 g/cm, p=0.11). Controls had significantly higher odds of having osteopenia or osteoporosis based on measurements of BMD in both the femoral neck (p=0.001), total hip (p=0.033) and lumbar spine (p=0.033).

CONCLUSION

Our population-based data showed comparable BMD in patients with PsA and controls. This supports that the PsA population is not at increased risk of osteoporosis.