Table 1.
Clinical characteristics of female patients with rheumatoid arthritis receiving oral bisphosphonates
| Monthly BP (n = 158) |
Weekly BP (n = 238) |
p value | Total subjects (n = 396) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, years, mean ± SD | 66.5 ± 10.5 | 65.6 ± 11.9 | 0.416 | 65.9 ± 11.3 |
| Disease duration, months, median (IQR) | 42 (12.5–82) | 35 (18–86) | 0.7 | 39 (18–84) |
| Seropositive RA, n (%) | 131 (82.9) | 193 (81.1) | 0.646 | 324 (81.8) |
| DAS28-ESR, mean ± SD | 3.53 ± 1.67 | 3.84 ± 1.67 | 0.089 | 3.72 ± 1.68 |
| Concurrent medications | ||||
| Methotrexate, n (%) | 93 (58.9) | 149 (62.6) | 0.454 | 242 (61.1) |
| Sulfasalazine, n (%) | 18 (11.4) | 37 (15.5) | 0.242 | 55 (13.9) |
| Hydroxychloroquine, n (%) | 86 (54.4) | 121 (50.8) | 0.484 | 207 (52.3) |
| Leflunomide, n (%) | 29 (18.4) | 49 (20.6) | 0.584 | 79 (19.7) |
| Glucocorticoid, n (%) | 138 (87.9) | 206 (86.6) | 0.697 | 344 (86.9) |
| Glucocorticoid dose, mg, median (IQR) | 7.5 (5–10) | 7.5 (5–10) | 0.631 | 7.5 (5–10) |
| Calcium/vitamin D, n (%) | 32 (20.3) | 42 (17.6) | 0.514 | 74 (18.7) |
| Previous history of fracture, n (%) | 11 (7) | 18 (7.6) | 0.822 | 29 (7.3) |
| Baseline DEXA, n (%) | 152 (96.2) | 203 (85.3) | <0.001 | 355 (89.6) |
| BMD (T score) | ||||
| Spine, mean ± SD | −1.8 ± 1.4 | −1.7 ± 1.4 | 0.629 | −1.7 ± 1.4 |
| Femoral neck, mean ± SD | −1.5 ± 1.1 | −1.4 ± 1.1 | 0.273 | −1.5 ± 1.1 |
| Total hip, mean ± SD | − 1.3 ± 1.1 | − 1.3 ± 1.1 | 0.595 | −1.3 ± 1.1 |
| Reimbursement for BPs | 108 (68.4%) | 146 (61.3%) | 0.154 | 254 (64.1%) |
| BMI, mean ± SD | 22.4 ± 2.8 | 22.2 ± 3.2 | 0.435 | 22.3 ± 3 |
| Comorbidity | ||||
| Type 2 DM, n (%) | 19 (12) | 16 (6.7) | 0.069 | 35 (8.8) |
| HTN, n (%) | 42 (26.6) | 56 (23.5) | 0.342 | 98 (24.7) |
RA rheumatoid arthritis, DEXA dual energy X-ray absorptiometry, BMD bone mineral density, BPs bisphosphonates, BMI body mass index, DM diabetes mellitus, HTN hypertension