Bone loss in adults receiving alternate day glucocorticoid therapy. A comparison with daily therapy.

Bone mineral content was measured by photon absorption densitometry in 25 patients with rheumatic diseases receiving glucocorticoids on an alternate day treatment schedule, and in 25 age-, sex-, and race-matched patients receiving daily steroid therapy. Mean values for cortical (diaphyseal) mass, trabecular (metaphyseal) mass, and the cortical/trabecular mass ratios were not different in the two groups. Steroid-induced osteopenia, defined as an elevated ratio of cortical to trabecular mass, occurred in both therapeutic regimens (8 of 25 on alternate day; 11 of 25 on daily). Therefore, bone loss was demonstrable in individuals on alternate day regimens. Serum levels of calcium, ionized calcium, alkaline phosphatase, and parathyroid hormone were similar in the two groups.