The impact of osteoporosis in patients with ankylosing spondylitis and its relationship to physical activity

Abstract

Background: Osteoporosis (OP) is a major fracture risk in ankylosing spondylitis (AS), and there are few qualitative reports on bone mass in AS. Objective: The aim of this study was to correlate the bone mineral density (BMD) with disease activity and physical activity (PA) in AS. Materials and Methods: Sixty-two participants who met the criteria for diagnosis of AS (28 males and 34 females) were recruited from Al-Yarmouk Teaching Hospital Baghdad, Iraq. The study was conducted at baseline and after 6 months of exercises. European health-related quality of life was used to reflect physical function. The erythrocyte sedimentation rate and C-reactive protein were used to evaluate AS disease as markers for disease activity. The study measured BMD at two events, before and after performing the relevant exercise. Results: Results found that 9.6% of patients reported fractures. Low bone mass in the AS patients were 17 (27%) in number. Osteopenic patients were 9 (14%) in number, while osteoporotic patients were 8 (13%) in number. An association (P = 0.05) between BMD and PA was noticed in AS participants. There was a weak (P