New York, NY (AHN)-A new study suggests that children with arthritis have a significantly increased risk of fracture in childhood, adolescence, and possibly adulthood.

In the study of 1939 children diagnosed with arthritis between the age of 1 and 9 years and 207,072 healthy control children, significantly more fractures were recorded in the children with arthritis than in control children.

A total of 129 (6.7 percent) first fractures were recorded in the patients with arthritis, compared with 6910 (3.3 percent) in the control subjects.

Dr. Jon Michael (Sandy) Burnham, of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania tells Reuters Health, "Prior to the publication of our study, it was unknown whether these kids were at increased risk for fracture during childhood, adulthood, or both."

Burnham goes on to say, "The findings suggest that we need to intervene to at least preserve and, more likely, to augment skeletal health during childhood and maximize peak bone mass accrual."

Burnham and colleagues report in the Annals of Rheumatic Diseases, "Active arthritis and the immobility that results is likely to exacerbate osteoporosis related to childhood arthritis."

Burnham continues, "We need to make sure that children meet the dietary requirements for calcium intake and remain vitamin D replete," adding that, "Last, we need to develop better clinical tools to diagnose and monitor children at risk for osteoporosis."