Abstract

OBJECTIVES:

We investigated the implementation of pharmaceutical osteoporosis (OP) prevention in early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in Finland.

METHODS:

All incident RA cases from 2000 to 2007 were identified using the national register of the Social Insurance Institution (SII) as the sole source. The use of calcium and vitamin D preparations and OP drugs during the first year was evaluated.

RESULTS:

A total of 14,878 incident RA patients were found. They had a mean age of 56 (SD 15) and 68% were female. Nine per cent of the total number, which equated to 11% for women and to 5% men, had purchased OP drugs. The use of OP drugs increased over time: in the 2006-2007 period, relative risk (RR) for purchase was 1.62 (95% CI 1.38-1.92) for women and 2.1 (1.34-3.30) for men compared to the 2000-2001 period. Over the 2000-2005 period, 49% of females and 52% of males used glucocorticoids (GCs) during the first year. Among the GC-users, 38% of women and 24% of men also received calcium and vitamin D preparations by prescription, and 14% of women and 6% of men also used OP drugs. For GC users, the female sex, and older age increased the risk for OP use: the respective RRs were 1.45 (95% CI 1.31-1.61), 2.54 (95% CI 2.21-2.91), and 1.060 (95% CI 1.057-1.065).

CONCLUSIONS:

Patients with early RA are increasingly receiving OP drugs, and the use is more frequent among patients with known risk factors.