Low bone mineral density (BMD) is recognized as a potential problem in children with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). We aimed to describe the longitudinal development of BMD in a population of Swedish pediatric patients with IBD.
A total of 144 patients with IBD (93 males; 83 with ulcerative colitis [UC], 45 with Crohn disease [CD]) were examined with dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry at baseline. At follow-up 2 years later, 126 of the initial 144 patients were reexamined. BMD values are expressed as z scores.
Children with UC and CD had significantly lower mean BMD z scores for the lumbar spine (LS) at baseline and after 2 years. The reduction in BMD was equally pronounced in patients with UC and CD, and neither group improved their z score during the follow-up period. Furthermore, significantly lower mean BMD z scores for the LS were found at baseline in boys (-1.1 SD, ±2.7 SD, P?