Table 1. Frequency of osteoporosis and fractures, demographic data, clinical/laboratory findings, and therapy in cohort 1 (period 1996–2004) and cohort 2 (period 2005–2019) (entire RA group, n=1.086).
| Years 1996–2004cohort 1(n=539) | Years 2005–2019cohort 2(n=547) | P value | |
| Frequency of osteoporosis and fractures | |||
| Osteoporosis (%) | 48.4 | 28.3 | <0001 |
| Peripheral fractures (%) | 21 | 11.5 | <0.001 |
| Vertebral fractures (%) | 10.9 | 6.6 | 0.011 |
| BMD | |||
| BMD-LS (g/cm2) | 0.85±0.15 | 1.03±0.21 | <0.001 |
| BMD-FN (g/cm2) | 0.71±0.13 | 0.83±0.14 | <0.001 |
| BMD-H (g/cm2) | 0.83±0.16 | 0.93±0.17 | <0.001 |
| Demographic and clinical data | |||
| Age (years) | 58.3±13.1 | 61.3±12.6 | 0.002 |
| Postmenopausal women (%) | 62.3 | 56.3 | 0.043 |
| Premenopausal women (%) | 18.0 | 15.0 | ns |
| Men (%) | 19.7 | 28.3 | 0.001 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 26.6±5.0 | 28.5±5.6 | <0.001 |
| Disease duration | 12.0±10.5 | 6.0±8.9 | <0.001 |
| Patients with disease duration ≤2 years (%) | 16.9 | 53.9 | <0.001 |
| ESR (mm/hour) | 36±27 | 30±25 | 0.001 |
| CRP (mg/L) | 29.9±38.1 | 28.8±36.3 | ns |
| Seropositivity (%) | 71.6 | 68.4 | ns |
| RA therapy and BP use | |||
| GC therapy (%) | 78 | 70 | 0.005 |
| Cumulative GC dose (g) | 15.5±20.4 | 12.8±25.6 | 0.021 |
| csDMARD (total) (%) | 85.2 | 59.7 | <0.001 |
| csDMARD without bDMARD (%) | 80.3 | 41.9 | <0.001 |
| Number of csDMARDS | 1.8 | 1.0 | <0.001 |
| bDMARDs (sequential treatment with csDMARDs and bDMARDs) (%) | 5.0 | 19.7 | <0.001 |
| BP pretreatment (%) | 13 | 14.7 | ns |
bDMARDsbiologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugsBMIbody mass indexBPbisphosphonatesCRPC reactive proteincsDMARDSconventional synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugsESRerythrocyte sedimentation rateGCglucocorticoidsnsnot significantRArheumatoid arthritis