Risk factors for osteoporosis in female patients with osteoarthritis

Objective:To study the risk factors for osteoporosis(OP)in female patients with osteoarthritis(OA).Methods:The bone mineral density(BMD) in the lumbar vertebrae(L_1~4),femoral neck and total femoral area of 300 female patients with OA and 101 female healthy subjects were measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry.The risk factors for OP were analyzed statistically in each group.Results:The incidence of OP in the female patients with OA was significant higher than that in the healthy subjects(P<0.01).The BMD of all positions in the female patients with OA was lower than that in the healthy subjects(P<0.01).Of all the patients with OA,those who had been diagnosed as having OP had lower BMD than those who had not (P<0.01).The BMD in the menopause group with OA was lower than that in the pre-menopausal group.Of all the patients with OA,the OP group had elder ages,longer years of menopause and more numbers of motherhood.And the differences were all statistically significant(P<0.01).The probability of osteoporotic fracture in patients with OA was obviously higher than that in healthy subjects in the next 10 years(P<0.01).Conclusions:Compared with the healthy subjects,patients with OA are more easily affected by OP and osteoporotic fracture.The incidence of OP is related to several risk factors such as elder ages,longer years of menopause and more numbers of motherhood.