TY - JOUR T1 - Changes in bone mineral density in patients with recent onset, active rheumatoid arthritis JF - Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases JO - Ann Rheum Dis SP - 823 LP - 828 DO - 10.1136/ard.2007.073817 VL - 67 IS - 6 AU - M Güler-Yüksel AU - J Bijsterbosch AU - Y P M Goekoop-Ruiterman AU - J K de Vries-Bouwstra AU - H M J Hulsmans AU - W M de Beus AU - K H Han AU - F C Breedveld AU - B A C Dijkmans AU - C F Allaart AU - W F Lems Y1 - 2008/06/01 UR - http://ard.bmj.com/content/67/6/823.abstract N2 - Objectives: We examined the effects of four different treatment strategies on bone mineral density (BMD) in patients with recently diagnosed, active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and the influence of disease-related and demographic factors on BMD loss after 1 year of follow-up in the BeSt trial.Methods: BMD measurements of the lumbar spine and total hip were performed in 342 patients with recent onset RA at baseline and after 1 year. Multivariable regression analyses were performed to determine independent associations between disease and demographic parameters and BMD loss after 1 year.Results: Median BMD loss after 1 year was 0.8% and 1.0% of baseline in the spine and the hip, respectively. No significant differences between the treatment groups, including corticosteroids and the anti-tumour necrosis factor-α infliximab, were observed with regard to BMD loss after 1 year of treatment. Joint damage at baseline and joint damage progression according to the Sharp–van der Heijde score were independently associated with more BMD loss after 1 year. The use of bisphosphonates independently protected against BMD loss.Conclusions: After 1 year of follow-up in the BeSt study, we did not find differences in BMD loss between the four treatment strategies, including high doses of corticosteroids and anti-tumour necrosis factor-α. Joint damage and joint damage progression are associated with high BMD loss, which emphasises that BMD loss and erosive RA have common pathways in their pathogenesis. ER -