Bone mineral density changes in patients with recent-onset rheumatoid arthritis.

Background: Osteoporosis and related fragility fractures are one of the most common complications seen in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and dramatically affect quality of life.

Objective: To evaluate changes in bone mineral density in patients with recent onset rheumatoid arthritis (<1 year) and its correlation if any with a modified DAS-28 score and simple erosion narrowing score (SENS).

Methods: This study included 30 patients with recent-onset rheumatoid arthritis fulfilling the new American College of Rheumatology/European League Against Rheumatism diagnostic criteria for rheumatoid arthritis and 20 healthy volunteers as controls.