Status of fracture risk assessment and osteoporosis treatment in Japanese patients with rheumatoid arthritis

This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) at a high risk of major osteoporosis (OP)-related fractures and the status of OP-related medical treatment for these patients. We enrolled 120 patients aged ≥40 years (average, 69.1 years) with RA. The Fracture Risk Assessment Tool (FRAX ® ) was used to evaluate the fracture risk. Of the 120 patients, the femoral neck bone mineral density (BMD) was evaluated in 102 patients, and their FRAX ® scores were calculated alongside the BMD values. Patients observed to be at a high risk of a major OP-related fracture (10-year probability >20% or hip fracture risk >3%), according to FRAX ® , were identified as those requiring OP treatment; medication ratio for OP (percentage of patients actually receiving medication among patients requiring OP treatment) was assessed. OP treatment was indicated in 75 (63%) patients; the medication ratio for OP was 49%. The use of biological disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs and corticosteroids showed a positive effect; however, the use of methotrexate showed a negative effect on the medication ratio. The number of potential patients requiring OP treatment is underestimated. All patients with RA should be assessed to determine their eligibility for OP treatment.