Bone Mineral Density in Rheumatoid Arthritis

DEXA method

Abstract

Bone mineral densities (BMD) in twenty-seven female patients with rheumatoid arthritis were examined by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). They were evaluated in % Age Matched of BMD of the total body, the lumbar spine, and the femur (neck, Ward's triangle, trochanter). Total body BMD was not statistically decreased in comparison with normal controls. There was no statistical correlation between disease duration and BMD. Proximal femoral BMD in patients of class I, and II were significantly (P<0.01) higher than those in class III, and IV.