Incidence of and risk factors for non-vertebral and vertebral fracture in female Chinese patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: a five-year cohort study:

ObjectiveThe objective of this paper is to investigate the incidence of both non-vertebral and vertebral fracture in female patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and to identify risk factors for incident fracture.MethodsIn a five-year prospective study of 127 female Chinese SLE patients with an average age of 46.9 years (SD: 10.1 years), information on potential risk factors, including demographics, clinical data and bone mineral density (BMD) at lumbar spine and hip by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry was collected at baseline. At follow-up, participants reported incident non-vertebral fracture during the study period. Semi-quantitative analysis was used to determine incident vertebral fracture on lateral thoracic and lumbar radiographs, defined as any vertebral body graded normal at baseline and at least mildly deformed (20%–25% reduction or more in any vertebral height) at follow-up.ResultsNine incident non-vertebral fractures occurred in eight patients during the study period. Six patients ...