Evaluation of the trabecular bone score (TBS) in routine clinical care of patients with inflammatory rheumatic and non-inflammatory diseases. Correlation with conventional bone mineral density measurement and prevalence of vertebral fractures

Background. Osteoporosis-related fractures are common in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Bone mineral density (BMD) measurements using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) alone has only a limited value for predicting the risk of fractures. The trabecular bone score (TBS) is a surrogate parameter for trabecular microarchitecture of bone and a predictor of fracture risk independent of BMD. Aim. To examine the prevalence of BMD, TBS and osteoporosis-related vertebral fractures (VF) in patients with RA in comparison to controls with non-inflammatory musculoskeletal diseases. Methods. Data from patients with RA diagnosed by a rheumatologist and with TBS and DXA measurements, who were assessed in this hospital between 2006 and 2014 were retrospectively analyzed. The RA patients were matched with controls with non-inflammatory musculoskeletal diseases. "Reduced bone health" was defined as a T-score