Objective: The aim: To study the peculiarities of bone mineral density in the Ukrainian population of women of different reproductive age with systemic lupus erythematosus and to evaluate its connection with traditional and specific (typical for systemic lupus erythematosus) risk factors.
Patients and methods: Materials and methods: A total of 91 women with systemic lupus erythematosus and 29 healthy individuals were examined. Along with the clinical study of the activity and severity of the disease, the serum levels of interleukin-6 were determined by the enzyme immunoassay. The peculiarities of bone mineral density were studied using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. The presence of fractures was evaluated by the X-ray method.
Results: Results: Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus frequently suffer from reduced bone mineral density. Reduced bone mineral density and the appearance of fragility fractures are associated with patients' age, disease duration, damage index, inflammatory activity, and cumulative dose of glucocorticoids.
Conclusion: Conclusions: Progressive reduced bone mineral density in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus occurs not only during the aging process of a woman, but is also associatedwith a number of systemic lupus erythematosus - related osteoporosis risk factors.
Keywords: fragility fractures; glucocorticoids; interleukin-6; osteoporosis.