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Abstract
The aim of the study was to evaluate the significance of growth retardation and bone loss as determinants of axial osteopenia in children with juvenile oligo- and polyarthritis. Bone mineral density (BMD), bone size (width), and bone volumetric density (BMDvol) were determined by dual x-ray absorptiometry at the lumbar spine and femoral neck in children with juvenile oligoarthritis (n = 36), polyarthritis (n = 75), and a group of healthy children (n = 66). Comparison of measurements showed that children with juvenile polyarthritis had a significantly reduced BMDvol (p < 0.05) and bone size (p < 0.01) at the lumbar spine, resulting in a 10.5% decrease in BMD (p < 0.001). At the femoral neck, the 16% decrease in BMD (p < 0.001) was attributed only to a decrease in BMDvol (p < 0.001). In juvenile oligoarthritis, the development of osteopenia was nonsignificant except at the femur, where the 6.6% decrease of BMD was associated with significant decrease of BMDvol (p < 0.05). The bone loss associated with juvenile chronic arthritis appears to develop with concurrent growth retardation at the spine, but without detectable growth retardation at the femoral neck.