Aim: To study bone density in patients with bronchial asthma (BA).
Materials and methods: Bone densitometric indices were evaluated in 123 patients with BA in relation to the basic therapy, dosage, and the duration and severity of the disease.
Results: The bulk (59.3%) of BA patients is found to have the osteopenic syndrome whose detection rate increases with longer duration and greater severity. Decreased bone density is more evident with oral glucocorticoids (GCs) than with inhaled ones. The effect of topical GCs on bone density is determined by their bioavailability. The decrease in bone density is more noticeable in patients taking beclomethasone and minimal in those on basic fluticasone therapy.
Conclusion: Considerable decreases in bone density in BA patients may be prevented by a rational basic therapy with first-line inhaled GCs with low bioavailability.