Association between FGF-23 levels and risk of fracture in women with systemic sclerosis

Abstract Introduction/Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association between Fracture Risk Assessment Tool (FRAX) and serum fibroblast grow factor-23 (FGF-23) levels in SSc women patients compared with healthy controls. Methodology: This cross-sectional study was performed in San Cecilio Hospital, Granada (Spain) from November 2017 to May 2019. Sixty-two women with SSc and 62 age and sex matched healthy controls were included in this study. FGF-23 serum concentration was evaluated by indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The FRAX scoring tool was applied using the on-line calculator (www.shef.ac.uk/FRAX). Results: Even though there was no significant difference in FGF-23 levels between SSc women patients and healthy controls (78.2 ± 60.5 vs. 80.3 ± 56.3 pg/mL, p= 0.662). FGF-23 levels were positively associated with FRAX index within the study group. Conclusions: This study shows that FGF-23 status is associated with FRAX index in women with SSc. FGF-23 could be a promising biomarker for detecting risk fracture in SSc women patients.