| Objective. To examine bone mineral density in the spines of patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis, and to identify the main predictors of spine bone mineral density.Methods.140 patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (62 female,78 male; median age,8.7±3.9 years [range,2.2-18.2 years]) were enrolled. All subjects underwent an initial dual energy X-ray absorptiometry scan of the lumbar spine,77 and 57 patients underwent a second and third scan respectively. Data were compared with those obtained for 104 sex-matched and age-matched healthy controls.Results. The dual energy X-ray absorptiometry scans revealed that juvenile idiopathic arthritis patients had a significant spine bone mineral density deficit compared with control subjects (P< 0.001). Longitudinal comparison of patients revealed no significant short-term improvement in the spine bone mineral density. Spine bone mineral density correlated with the age (P< 0.05), subtype (P< 0.05), disease activity (P< 0.01), Body Mass Index (P=0.001), corticosteroid exposure (P< 0.05), methotrexate therapy (P< 0.05), and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents (P< 0.05), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (P< 0.01), and C-reactive protein levels (P< 0.01).Conclusion. Patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis have low bone mass, especially those in polyarticular group> 7 years old with higher disease activity. |
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