To investigate incidence and mortaltiy of osteoporotic fractures (including hip, spine, distal radius, and proximal humerus) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients and compare them with those in the genearal population.

Data provided by National Health Insurance Service were used to identify osteoporotic fractures in patients aged >50 years between 2010 and 2012. Patients with RA were identified by the diagnostic code for seropositive RA. Standardized mortality ratios (SMRs; observed/expected deaths) of osteoporotic fractures were calculated based on age and gender-specific rates in the entire Korean population. Incidence, mortality, and SMR of osteoporotic fractures in RA patients and the general population were calculated and compared.

Osteopororic fractures in the general population and RA patients were increased by 11.6% and 17.4% over 3 years (195,271 and 1,356 in 2010; 217,985 and 1,592 in 2012), respectively. Mean age-specific incidence of osteoporotic fracture in women and men with RA increased from 932.1/100,000 and 306.1/100,000 for aged 50 to 59 year to 9,377.0/100,000 and 3,700.9/100,000 for aged ≥80 years, respectively. Cumulative mortality rate in the first year after osteoporotic fracture in patients with RA was higher than that in the general population (7.8% in RA and 6.6% in the general population). SMR of osteoporotic fracture in RA patients was 1.4 times higher in men and 1.3 times higher in women than that for the general population.

This study demonstated that incidence, 1-year mortality, and SMR of osteoporotic fracture in RA patients aged 50 years and older were higher than those in the general papulation.