Asymptomatic vertebral compression fractures in postmenopausal women with systemic lupus erythematosus

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune disease that most commonly occurs in women. Improved treatments for SLE have led to a substantial increase in the life expectancy of patients, so the problems of complications of both the disease itself and its therapy have come to be top priority. The most common complications of SLE among the musculoskeletal system lesions are osteoporosis and related vertebral compression fractures (VCFs). However, only one third of these fractures has clinical manifestations and causes the patient to seek medical advice. More VCFs remain undetected because they have no or scarce symptoms. The question of the influence of various factors (gender, age, menopause, etc.) on the incidence of VCFs in patients with SLE remains open. It should be expected that in postmenopausal women with SLE, the incidence of VCFs may be considerably higher than that in the population. Objective: to determine the frequency of and to evaluate the role of various factors in the development of asymptomatic vertebral fractures in postmenopausal women with SLE (a retrospective study). Subjects and methods. A total of 86 postmenopausal women (mean age, 59+7.9 years) with a diagnosis of SLE, which met the 2012 Systemic Lupus Collaborating Clinics (SLICC) criteria, were examined. The mean duration of the disease and menopause was 15+8.3 and 12.8+7 years, respectively. All the patients with SLE were treated with glucocorticoids (GC) at a dose of 15+5 mg/day calculated with reference to prednisolone for more than 12 months (mean, 159.7+90.9 months) and had a low disease activity (the mean SLEDAI-2K score was 5.1+3.9). The ACR damage index for SLE averaged 5.5+2.6. All the patients underwent vertebral fracture assessment (VFA) using a Hologic Explorer bone densitometer to identify VCFs in the thoracic and lumbar spine. The anterior, middle, and posterior heights of Thiv-Lv, and the height of each vertebra as well as the underlying vertebra were calculated and compared. If the differences in the anterior, middle, or posterior vertebral heights were >20-25%, this deformation was regarded as VCFs. Bone mineral density (BMD) in the hip and spine was measured with an X-ray bone densitometer. Results. VFA revealed VCFs in 40 (46.5%) patients with SLE; these were detected for the first time in 22 (55%) patients since they had no significant clinical manifestations. VCFs happened most commonly in the mid-thoracic spine (Thvi-ix). All the patients with asymptomatic VCFs had a fracture of only one vertebra. The patients with VCFs had a longer duration of SLE and menopause, more frequently received cytostatic therapy, and had a higher cumulative dose and a longer duration of GC therapy. They also had a higher damage index and lower BMD values in Li-iv than patients without VCFs (p 0.05). Conclusion. The detection rate for VCFs is nearly 50% in postmenopausal women with SLE, and about every two VCFs remain undetected. The long duration of SLE, menopause, and GC treatment, a high cumulative dose, a high damage index and low BMD values in Li-iv were associated with VCFs. VFA is an effective screening method to detect asymptomatic VCFs.