Disease-related risk of vertebral fracture during glucocorticoid treatment of collagen vascular diseases

Challenges in the diagnosis and management of glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis in younger and older adults

OBJECTIVE

Glucocorticoids constitute a considerable risk for developing osteoporosis in both younger and older adults. However, currently available bone imaging modalities and fracture-risk assessment tools do not adequately capture the dramatic changes in bone microarchitecture, heterogeneity of glucocorticoid exposure, the impact of chronic disease and other osteoporosis risk factors on the assessment of osteoporosis in these individuals.

DESIGN

A narrative review is presented, following a systematic search of the literature from 2000 to 2021.

RESULTS

Our current appreciation of glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis (GIO) is focused on older populations, with limited evidence to guide the investigation, risk assessment and treatment in premenopausal women and men less than 50 years. The impact of the underlying chronic disease on secondary osteoporosis in these younger adults is also poorly understood.

CONCLUSION

Through this narrative review, we provide a comprehensive overview of and recommendations for optimising the management of this common cause of secondary osteoporosis younger and older adults.

Bone Mineral Loss and Fracture in Sarcoidosis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Objectives

This meta-analysis aims to investigate the possibility of bone mineral loss and fracture in sarcoidosis.

Materials and methods

A comprehensive search of the MEDLINE and Embase databases was performed from inception through August 2017. The inclusion criterion was observational studies evaluating the association between sarcoidosis and bone mineral density (BMD) or fracture. The pooled odds ratio (OR) of fracture, standardized mean difference (SMD) of volumetric BMD and areal BMD, and their 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated using a random-effects meta-analysis to compare risk between sarcoidosis and controls. The between-study heterogeneity of effect-size was quantified using the Q statistic and I2.

Results

Data were extracted from 10 studies involving a total of 6,448 sarcoidosis patients and 77,857 controls. The pooled result demonstrated no significant increased risk of fracture in sarcoidosis patients compared with controls (OR=1.68; 95% CI: 0.85-3.31, p value=0.14, I2=72%). There were no differences between the patients and controls in areal BMD (SMD= 0.21 g/cm2; 95% CI: -0.12-0.54, p value= 0.22, I2=0%) or volumetric BMD (SMD= 0.04 mg/cm3; 95% CI: -0.51-0.58, p value=0.89, I2=83%).

Conclusion

Our study has not shown an increased risk of fracture or bone mineral loss in sarcoidosis. However, based on the currently available studies with heterogeneity in between, the conclusion for the osteoporosis screening and fracture risk assessment of patients with sarcoidosis cannot be drawn until more studies are available.

Use of corticosteroids is not associated with repeated vertebroplasty or kyphoplasty within one year after the surgery in patient older than 50 years

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to investigate whether corticosteroid use increases the incidence of repeated PVP or kyphoplasty patients older than 50 years.

METHODS

This study enrolled the data of 2,753 eligible patients from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database who were exposed to systemic corticosteroids for at least 3 months during the first year preceding the first PVP or kyphoplasty. These steroid users were matched 1:1 in age, sex, and the index date of surgery with non-user controls during the enrollment period. All patients were followed for 1 year after the first PVP or kyphoplasty. The incidence of repeated PVP or kyphoplasty was compared between the steroid users and controls. A Cox proportional hazards model was developed to account for multiple confounding factors.

RESULTS

The number of patients receiving repeated PVP or kyphoplasty was 233 (8.46%) and 205 (7.45%) in the corticosteroid and control groups, respectively. The Cox proportional hazards model revealed no association between corticosteroid use and repeated PVP or kyphoplasty.

CONCLUSIONS

Systemic corticosteroid use for longer than 3 months is not associated with repeated PVP or kyphoplasty within one year of surgery in patient older than 50 years old.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Level III, Therapeutic study.