Approximately half of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients for whom treatment was indicated never received an osteoporosis (OP) medication, a recent study revealed. Furthermore, OP care in RA patients was not better than in osteoarthritis (OA) patients, and the relative risk of the application of this care has been decreasing in RA and OA patients since 2008 without improvement after the release of the 2010 American College of Rheumatology Glucocorticoid-Inducted Osteoporosis (ACR GIOP) guidelines. Patients with RA or OA were followed from 2003 through 2014. Researchers found:

• OP screening (OPTS) was reported in 67.4% of 11,669 RA patients and in 64.6% of 2,829 OA patients during a median (interquartile range) 5.5 (2-9) years of follow up.
• In patients for whom treatment was recommended by the 2010 ACR GIOP guidelines (48.4% of RA patients and 17.6% of OA patients), approximately 55% overall reported OP medication use.
• RA patients were not more likely to undergo OPTS compared to OA patients.
• Factors associated with receipt of OP care in RA patients were older age, postmenopausal state, prior fragility fracture or diagnosis of OP, any duration of glucocorticoid treatment, and use of biologic agents.