Vertebral fractures in patients with acromegaly: A 3-year prospective study

Abstract

Context: Cross-sectional studies showed an elevated prevalence of vertebral fractures in acromegaly. However, no data are available on incident vertebral fractures in this clinical setting. Objective: The objective of the study was to investigate the incidence and risk factors of vertebral fractures in patients with acromegaly. Design: This was a 3-year prospective study. Setting: The study was conducted at referral centers. Subjects: Eighty-eight patients with acromegaly (33 females, 55 males; mean age 50 years, range 21-85 years) and 106 control subjects, matched for sex and age (43 females and 63 males, meanage 55 years, range 33-79 years), attending outpatient bone clinics participated in the study. Main Measures: Patients and control subjects were evaluated for the incidence of vertebral fractures using a quantitative morphometric approachonspine x-ray, whichwasperformed at baseline and after 3 years of follow-up. At the same time points, patients with acromegaly were also evaluated for bone mineral density with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry at lumbar spine and femoral neck. Results: After a 3-year follow-up, 37 patients with acromegaly (42.0%) and 4 control subjects (3.8%) experienced incident vertebral fractures (P