The effect of calcium and vitamin D on bone mineral density in patients taking glucocorticoid therapies: Protocol for a systematic review and network meta-analysis

Abstract

Glucocorticoid (GC) administration is an effective therapy commonly used in the treatment of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. However, the use of GC can give rise to serious complications. The main detrimental side effect of GC therapy is significant bone loss, resulting in glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis (GIOP). We propose a systematic review and network meta-analysis (NMA) to evaluate whether the use of calcium supplementation, with or without vitamin D, vitamin D metabolites and vitamin D analogues is capable of increasing bone mineral density (BMD) at the lumbar spine, femoral neck, and hip in adult patients undergoing glucocorticoid therapies compared to no treatment.