The prevalence and incidence of vertebral fracture is low among patients with early axial spondyloarthritis, according to recent data in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.

“The ankylosed spine is at risk of fractures,” Karine Briot, MD, PhD, of Cochin Hospital, Paris, and colleagues wrote. “The prevalence of [vertebral fractures] in patients with axial SpA is highly variable in different studies, up to 30%. These data are unexpected in a disease affecting a young population, predominantly males and without treatment with glucocorticoids. Actually, the definition of a [vertebral fracture] varies among studies.”