Demographics, GC therapy and bone status*†
| All | RA‡ | CTD§ | Vasculitides¶ | Spondyloarthritides** | |
| N=1066 | N=434 | N=281 | N=173 | N=178 | |
| Demographics | |||||
| Age (years) | 62.2 (±13) | 64.2 (±12) | 57.5 (±15) | 67.6 (±12) | 59.4 (±12) |
| Female patients | 806 (76) | 348 (80) | 240 (85) | 115 (67) | 103 (58) |
| Menopause | 706 (89) | 314 (91) | 193 (81) | 111 (97) | 88 (87) |
| BMI (kg/m²) | 27.1 (±5.4) | 27.7 (±5.6) | 25.3 (±5.2) | 26.6 (±4.4) | 28.7 (±5.7) |
| GC therapy | |||||
| Patients with current GC†† therapy | 705 (66) | 311 (72) | 201 (72) | 150 (87) | 43 (24) |
| Current GC dose (mg/day), median (IQ) | 5.0 (5–10) | 5.0 (4–8) | 5.0 (5–10) | 8.2 (5–30) | 10.0 (5–40) |
| ≤2.5 (% of total current GC) | 85 (12) | 48 (15) | 17 (9) | 16 (11) | 4 (9) |
| >2.5–4.9 | 75 (11) | 40 (13) | 20 (10) | 11 (7) | 4 (9) |
| 5.0–7.4 | 285 (40) | 143 (46) | 92 (46) | 41 (27) | 9 (21) |
| 7.5–10.0 | 108 (15) | 41 (13) | 38 (19) | 20 (13) | 9 (21) |
| >10.0 | 152 (22) | 39 (13) | 34 (17) | 62 (41) | 17 (40) |
| Cumulative GC dose (g)‡‡ | 18.2 (±24.7) | 18.0 (±23.8) | 23.4 (±26.3) | 13.9 (±22.6) | 12.9 (±26.0) |
| Duration of GC therapy (years) | 8.2 (±8.8) | 8.7 (±9.1) | 10.5 (±9.1) | 5.0 (±6.2) | 6.1 (±8.2) |
| Bone status (T-score§§) | |||||
| Spine | –0.7 (±1.5) | –0.8 (±1.5) | –1.0 (±1.3) | –0.6 (±1.5) | –0.6 (±1.5) |
| Normal | 512 (51) | 205 (51) | 116 (44) | 91 (56) | 100 (61) |
| Osteopenia | 374 (38) | 157 (39) | 109 (41) | 60 (37) | 48 (29) |
| OP | 107 (11) | 40 (10) | 39 (15) | 11 (7) | 17 (10) |
| Left femoral neck | –1.1 (±1.1) | –1.1 (±1.0) | –1.2 (±1.2) | –1.2 (±1.0) | –0.9 (±1.1) |
| Normal | 395 (41) | 155 (39) | 97 (38) | 53 (34) | 90 (54) |
| Osteopenia | 486 (50) | 196 (50) | 135 (52) | 89 (57) | 66 (39) |
| OP | 94 (9) | 42 (11) | 26 (10) | 14 (9) | 12 (7) |
| Right femoral neck | –1.1 (±1.1) | –1.1 (±1.1) | –1.2 (±1.1) | –1.2 (±1.0) | –0.9 (±1.2) |
| Normal | 395 (41) | 156 (40) | 96 (37) | 58 (37) | 85 (51) |
| Osteopenia | 475 (49) | 193 (40) | 133 (51) | 85 (54) | 64 (38) |
| OP | 101 (11) | 38 (10) | 31 (12) | 14 (9) | 18 (11) |
| Osteoporotic fractures¶¶ | |||||
| Vertebral | 67 (6) | 34 (8) | 12 (4) | 14 (8) | 7 (4) |
| Non-vertebral | 290 (27) | 124 (29) | 70 (25) | 41 (24) | 55 (31) |
*Categorical variables are presented as number and per cent of valid observations (%) unless otherwise noted.
†Continuous variables are presented as mean values with SD unless otherwise noted.
‡RA comprises patients with seropositive and seronegative RA as well as late-onset RA.
§CTDs include patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, progressive systemic sclerosis, limited cutaneous systemic sclerosis, mixed CTD, polymyositis, undifferentiated CTD, antisynthetase syndrome, eosinophilic fasciitis, inclusion body myositis, dermatomyositis, scleroderma with overlap RA and Sjogren’s syndrome.
¶Vasculitides include polymyalgia rheumatica, giant cell arteritis, panarteritis nodosa, microscopic polyangiitis, granulomatosis with polyangiitis, eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis, Cogan’s syndrome, anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis and undifferentiated vasculitis.
**Spondyloarthritides include psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis.
††GCs include both oral and intravenous application forms of prednis(ol)one, methylprednisolone and modified-release prednisone. All doses are given in prednisone equivalent.
‡‡Cumulative GC dose is an estimate calculated from information provided by the patient with the help of patient charts for the entire duration of GC therapy.
§§BMD and T-score are measured with GE Healthcare Lunar Prodigy DF+15629 dual X-ray absorptiometry scanner. Normal, ≥−1.0; osteopenia, <–1.0; and >–2.5; OP, ≤–2.5.
¶¶History of fractures was self-reported and/or verified from patient charts, if available. In case of clinical suspicion of a vertebral fracture, a conventional X-ray examination was performed. Fractures were adjudicated under osteoporotic fractures when having occurred due to inadequate trauma or fall from standing height.
BMD, bone mineral density; BMI, body mass index; CTD, connective tissue disease; GC, glucocorticoid; IQ, inner quartile; OP, osteoporosis; RA, rheumatoid arthritis.