RESUMO
AIM: To study the frequency and magnitude of a reduction in bone mineral density (BMD) and its association with clinical parameters in patients with scleroderma systematica (SDS). SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Fifty-six postmenopausal women aged 45-71 years (58.1±7.1 years) with a valid diagnosis of SDS and 44 age-matched healthy women were examined. Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (Hologic QDR 4500, Waltham, MA) was performed in all the included patients to measure BMD in the lumbar spine (L(I)-L(IV)), femoral neck, and proximal femur. RESULTS: The patients with SDS and the healthy women showed no differences in body mass index (BMI) (24.7±4.6 and 25.7±3.5 kg/m(2), respectively) and postmenopause duration (9.6±6.4 and 9.5±7.0 years, respectively); menopause occurred earlier in the patients with SDS than in the healthy women (46.9±3.6 and 49.7±3.0 years, respectively (p<0.001). The patients with SDS versus the controls had a significantly lower BMD in the lumbar spine (0.821±0.121 and 0.861±0.092 g/cm(2); Ñ<0.05), femoral neck (0.620±0.129 and 0.736±0.112 g/cm(2); p<0.0001), and proximal femur (0.736±0.148 and 0.884±0.124 g/cm(2); Ñ<0.0001). Osteoporosis (OP) was detected in 29 (52%) of the 56 patients and in only 5 (11%) of the 44 control women (Ñ<0.0001). The patients with diffuse SDS displayed a much greater reduction in BMD in all the regions than those with circumscribed SDS. BMD was significantly lower in the patients treated with glucocorticosteroids (GCS) than in the untreated ones. In the control group, BMD was associated with age, duration of menopause, and BMI. In the patients with SDS, BMD was correlated with BMI and inversely correlated with duration of menopause, and the magnitude of a BMD reduction was closely related to disease duration. The patients also showed an inverse correlation of BMD with the daily dose of GCS. CONCLUSION: The postmenopausal women with SDS were found to have a lower BMD in 80% of cases. In this category of women, the reduction in BMD was significantly commoner and more pronounced than in the age-matched healthy women. Low BMI, diffuse SDS, disease duration, and GCS use are risk factors for reduced BMD and OP.