Symptomatic fractures in systemic sclerosis: A case–control study

This case–control study analyzed risk factors for symptomatic fractures in a group of 52 patients with systemic sclerosis compared with a group of 104 patients without fractures, matched for sex and age, who were attended at a single systemic sclerosis outpatient clinic from 2010 to 2020. Fractures affected predominantly vertebral (65.4%), rib (13.5%), and hip (7.7%) joints, while the mean age of fracture was 55.3 ± 9.5 years. Age at disease onset, age at diagnosis, disease duration, age at menarche, and age at menopause were similar in both groups, and 58.9% of the patients were menopausal at the time of the fracture. The presence of fractures had a significant association with densitometric osteoporosis (p