[Epidemiology of bone and joint disease - the present and future - . Risk factors for fractures and treatment of osteoporosis in Japanese patients with rheumatoid arthritis].

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are at increased risk for developing osteoporosis and fractures compared to controls. This risk is further increased since a majority of patients with RA also receive concomitant corticosteroids, which have been shown to induce osteoporosis and increase the risk of fractures. Glucocorticoids use and physical disability as well as low bone mineral density and older age are recognized as significant risk...