PREVALENCE of GLUCOCORTICOID INDUCED OSTEOPOROSIS in AFRICAN ADULT PATIENTS with CHRONIC RHEUMATIC DISEASES. A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW and META-ANALYSIS

ABSTRACT

Background: Glucocorticoid (GC) use is well established in the treatment of rheumatics diseases, particularly rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The use of low dose GC has been endorsed by EULAR recommendations for the management of rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases even if in the context of SARS-CoV-2, but long-term use is generally discouraged. Objectives: To estimate the prevalence of glucocorticosteroids induced osteoporosis (GIOP) on bone mineral density (BMD) in African adult patients with infammatory rheumatic diseases. Methods: For this systematic review and meta-analysis, PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus and African index medicus were systematically searched up to December 2020 without language restrictions. We included studies as follows population-based or hospital-based study, study with sufficient information to estimate the prevalence of GIOP and osteoporotic fractures in African patients with rheumatic disease. Searches were limited to peer-reviewed full text articles. A standardized data extraction form was used to collect information from eligible studies. A random-effects meta-analysis was conducted to obtain the pooled prevalence of GIOP in these studies. The meta-analysis was strati-fed by geographical region. The study is registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42021256252. Results: Our search identifed 8571 studies, of which 8 studies were included in the systematic review from only four African countries and 7 studies in the meta-analysis. The pooled prevalence of osteoporotic fractures in our study was 47.7% (95% CI 32.9-62.8) with 52.2% (95% CI 36.5-67.6) in North Africa and 15.4% (95% 1.9-45.4%) in South Africa (SA). There was no evidence of publication bias, although heterogeneity was high (p=0.018). There was no data from sub-Saharan Africa apart from the two studies from SA. Conclusion: The overall prevalence of GIOP in African adult patients with infam-matory rheumatic diseases was high at 47.7% (95% CI 32.9-62.8). Meta-analysis calculation revealed patient geographic origin as possible confounding factors of the proportion outcomes and further studies are required.