Professor of Medicine

Director, Center for Education & Research on Therapeutics of Musculoskeletal Disorders (CERTS).

Director, Center for Outcomes and Effectiveness Research and Education (COERE).


Address:  

Faculty Office Tower (FOT), Room 820D
510 20th Street South
35294-3408

Telephone: (205) 996-9784
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Education

 
BSE, Bioengineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 1982
MD, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois, 1986
MSc (Epidemiology), University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA,, 1993
Residency, Internal Medicine, Northwestern University, Evanston Hospital, Evanston, IL, 1986-1989
Chief Resident, Internal Medicine, Northwestern University, Evanston Hospital, Evanston, IL, 1989-1990
Fellowship, Rheumatology, University of Iowa, 1990-1993

Research Interests

Dr. Saag's current research focuses on the epidemiology of osteoporosis and rheumatoid arthritis as well as methods to translate evidence into practice for both arthritis and osteoporosis.

Selected Publications
 

Ward MA, Xu Y, Viswanathan HN, Stolshek BS, Clay B, Adams JL, Kallich JD, Fine S, Saag KG. 2012. Association between osteoporosis treatment change and adherence, incident fracture, and total healthcare costs in a Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug plan. Osteoporos Int. 2012 Oct 26. [Epub ahead of print] PMID:23100119

Singh JA, Furst D, Saag KG. 2012. 2012 update of the 2008 ACR recommendations for the use of disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs and biologic agents in the treatment of RA: Reply to letter by Graudal et al. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 2012 Oct 24. [Epub ahead of print] PMID:23097242

Kilgore ML, Curtis JR, Delzell E, Becker DJ, Arora T, Saag KG, Morrisey MA. 2012. A close examination of health care expenditures related to fractures. J Bone Miner Res. 2012 Oct 16.  [Epub ahead of print] PMID:23074090

Herrinton LJ, Liu L, Chen L, Harrold LR, Raebel MA, Curtis JR, Griffin MR, Solomon DH, Saag KG, Lewis JD. 2012. Association between anti-TNF-α therapy and all-cause mortality. Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf. 2012 Oct 15. [Epub ahead of print] PMID:23065964

Haynes K, Beukelman T, Curtis JR, Newcomb C, Herrinton LJ, Graham DJ, Solomon DH, Griffin MR, Chen L, Liu L, Saag KG, Lewis JD; On behalf of the Safety Assessment of Biological thERapeutics (SABER) Collaboration. 2012. Tumor necrosis factor alpha inhibitor therapy and cancer risk in chronic immune mediated diseases. Arthritis Rheum. 2012 Oct 10. [Epub ahead of print] PMID:23055441

Gaffo AL, Jacobs DR Jr, Sijtsma F, Lewis CE, Mikuls TR, Saag KG. 2012. Serum urate association with hypertension in young adults: analysis from the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults cohort. Ann Rheum Dis. 2012 Sep 14. [Epub ahead of print] PMID:22984170

Winthrop KL, Chen L, Fraunfelder FW, Ku JH, Varley CD, Suhler E, Hills WL, Gattey D, Baddley JW, Liu L, Grijalva CG, Delzell E, Beukelman T, Patkar NM, Xie F, Herrinton LJ, Fraunfelder FT, Saag KG, Lewis JD, Solomon DH, Curtis JR. 2012. Initiation of Anti-TNF Therapy and the Risk of Optic Neuritis; From the Safety Assessment of Biologic ThERapy (SABER) Study. Am J Ophthalmol. 2012 Sep 8. [Epub ahead of print] PMID:22967869

Garg R, Sayles HR, Yu F, Michaud K, Singh J, Saag KG, Mikuls TR. 2012. Gout-related healthcare utilization in U.S. emergency departments, 2006 through 2008. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 2012 Sep 4.  [Epub ahead of print] PMID:22949176

Warriner AH, Outman RC, Kitchin E, Chen L, Morgan S, Saag KG, Curtis JR. 2012. A randomized trial of a mailed intervention and self-scheduling to improve osteoporosis screening in postmenopausal women. J Bone Miner Res. 2012 Jul 26. [Epub ahead of print]PMID:22836812

Curtis JR, Xie F, Chen L, Muntner P, Grijalva CG, Spettell C, Fernandes J, McMahan RM, Baddley JW, Saag KG, Beukelman T, Delzell E. 2012. Use of a disease risk score to compare serious infections associated with anti-tumor necrosis factor therapy among high- versus lower-risk rheumatoid arthritis patients. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 64(10):1480-9. PMID:22833479

Saag KG, Mohr PE, Esmail L, Mudano AS, Wright N, Beukelman T, Curtis JR, Cutter G, Delzell E, Gary LC, Harrington TM, Karkare S, Kilgore ML, Lewis CE, Moloney R, Oliveira A, Singh JA, Warriner A, Zhang J, Berger M, Cummings SR, Pace W, Solomon DH, Wallace R, Tunis SR. 2012. Improving the efficiency and effectiveness of pragmatic clinical trials in older adults in the United States. Contemp Clin Trials. 33(6):1211-6. PMID:22796098

Zhang J, Xie F, Delzell E, Chen L, Winthrop KL, Lewis JD, Saag KG, Baddley JW, Curtis JR. 2012. Association between vaccination for herpes zoster and risk of herpes zoster infection among older patients with selected immune-mediated diseases. JAMA. 308(1):43-9. PMID:22760290

Curtis JR, Yun H, Lange JL, Matthews R, Sharma P, Saag KG, Delzell E. 2012. Does medication adherence itself confer fracture protection? an investigation of the healthy adherer effect in observational data. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 2012 Jun 21. [Epub ahead of print] PMID:22730364

Wright NC, Saag KG, Curtis JR, Smith WK, Kilgore ML, Morrisey MA, Yun H, Zhang J, Delzell ES. 2012. Recent trends in hip fracture rates by race/ethnicity among older US adults. J Bone Miner Res. 27(11):2325-32. PMID:22692958

Beukelman T, Xie F, Chen L, Baddley JW, Delzell E, Grijalva CG, Lewis JD, Ouellet-Hellstrom R, Patkar NM, Saag KG, Winthrop KL, Curtis JR; SABER Collaboration. 2012. Rates of hospitalized bacterial infection associated with juvenile idiopathic arthritis and its treatment. Arthritis Rheum. 64(8):2773-80. PMID:22569881

Buttgereit F, Mehta D, Kirwan J, Szechinski J, Boers M, Alten RE, Supronik J, Szombati I, Romer U, Witte S, Saag KG. 2012. Low-dose prednisone chronotherapy for rheumatoid arthritis: a randomised clinical trial (CAPRA-2). Ann Rheum Dis. 2012 May 5. [Epub ahead of print] PMID:22562974

Curtis JR, Xie F, Chen L, Muntner P, Grijalva CG, Spettell C, Fernandes J, McMahan RM, Baddley JW, Saag KG, Beukelman T, Delzell E. 2012. Use of a disease risk score to compare serious infections associated with anti-TNF therapy among high versus lower risk rheumatoid arthritis patients. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 2012 May 3.  [Epub ahead of print] PMID:22556118

Schumacher HR Jr, Evans RR, Saag KG, Clower J, Jennings W, Weinstein SP, Yancopoulos GD, Wang J, Terkeltaub R. 2012. Rilonacept (interleukin-1 trap) for prevention of gout flares during initiation of uric acid-lowering therapy: Results from a phase III randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, confirmatory efficacy study. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 64(10):1462-70. PMID:22549879

Ioannidis G, Flahive J, Pickard L, Papaioannou A, Chapurlat RD, Saag KG, Silverman S, Anderson FA Jr, Gehlbach SH, Hooven FH, Boonen S, Compston JE, Cooper C, Díez-Perez A, Greenspan SL, Lacroix AZ, Lindsay R, Netelenbos JC, Pfeilschifter J, Rossini M, Roux C, Sambrook PN, Siris ES, Watts NB, Adachi JD; for the GLOW Investigators. 2012. Non-hip, non-spine fractures drive healthcare utilization following a fracture: the Global Longitudinal Study of Osteoporosis in Women (GLOW). Osteoporos Int. 2012 Apr 12. [Epub ahead of print] PMID:22525976

Anderson J, Caplan L, Yazdany J, Robbins ML, Neogi T, Michaud K, Saag KG, O'Dell JR, Kazi S. 2012 Rheumatoid arthritis disease activity measures: American College of Rheumatology recommendations for use in clinical practice. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 64(5):640-7. PMID:22473918

Singh JA, Furst DE, Bharat A, Curtis JR, Kavanaugh AF, Kremer JM, Moreland LW, O'Dell J, Winthrop KL, Beukelman T, Bridges SL Jr, Chatham WW, Paulus HE, Suarez-Almazor M, Bombardier C, Dougados M, Khanna D, King CM, Leong AL, Matteson EL, Schousboe JT, Moynihan E, Kolba KS, Jain A, Volkmann ER, Agrawal H, Bae S, Mudano AS, Patkar NM, Saag KG. 2012. 2012 update of the 2008 American College of Rheumatology recommendations for the use of disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs and biologic agents in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 64(5):625-39. PMID:22473917

Dennison EM, Compston JE, Flahive J, Siris ES, Gehlbach SH, Adachi JD, Boonen S, Chapurlat R, Díez-Pérez A, Anderson FA Jr, Hooven FH, LaCroix AZ, Lindsay R, Netelenbos JC, Pfeilschifter J, Rossini M, Roux C, Saag KG, Sambrook P, Silverman S, Watts NB, Greenspan SL, Premaor M, Cooper C; GLOW Investigators. 2012. Effect of co-morbidities on fracture risk: findings from the Global Longitudinal Study of Osteoporosis in Women (GLOW). Bone. 50(6):1288-93. PMID:22426498

Roux C, Wyman A, Hooven FH, Gehlbach SH, Adachi JD, Chapurlat RD, Compston JE, Cooper C, Díez-Pérez A, Greenspan SL, Lacroix AZ, Netelenbos JC, Pfeilschifter J, Rossini M, Saag KG, Sambrook PN, Silverman S, Siris ES, Watts NB, Boonen S; for the GLOW investigators. 2012. Burden of non-hip, non-vertebral fractures on quality of life in postmenopausal women : The Global Longitudinal study of Osteoporosis in Women (GLOW). Osteoporos Int. 2012 Mar 8. [Epub ahead of print] PMID:22398855

Beukelman T, Haynes K, Curtis JR, Xie F, Chen L, Bemrich-Stolz CJ, Delzell E, Saag KG, Solomon DH, Lewis JD; Safety Assessment of Biological Therapeutics Collaboration.2012. Rates of malignancy associated with juvenile idiopathic arthritis and its treatment. Arthritis Rheum. 64(4):1263-71. PMID:22328538

Curtis JR, Yun H, Matthews R, Saag KG, Delzell E. 2012. Adherence with intravenous zoledronate and intravenous ibandronate in the United States Medicare population. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 64(7):1054-60. PMID:22328117

Gaffo AL, Jacobs DR Jr, Lewis CE, Mikuls TR, Saag KG. 2012. Association between being African-American, serum urate levels and the risk of developing hyperuricemia: findings from the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults cohort. Arthritis Res Ther. 14(1):R4. PMID:22225548

Gaffo AL, Saag KG. 2012. Drug treatment of hyperuricemia to prevent cardiovascular outcomes: are we there yet? Am J Cardiovasc Drugs. 12(1):1-6.PMID:22204636

Teng GG, Ang LW, Saag KG, Yu MC, Yuan JM, Koh WP. 2012. Mortality due to coronary heart disease and kidney disease among middle-aged and elderly men and women with gout in the Singapore Chinese Health Study. Ann Rheum Dis. 71(6):924-8. PMID:22172492

Gehlbach S, Saag KG, Adachi JD, Hooven FH, Flahive J, Boonen S, Chapurlat RD, Compston JE, Cooper C, Díez-Perez A, Greenspan SL, LaCroix AZ, Netelenbos JC, Pfeilschifter J, Rossini M, Roux C, Sambrook PN, Silverman S, Siris ES, Watts NB, Lindsay R. 2012. Previous fractures at multiple sites increase the risk for subsequent fractures: the Global Longitudinal Study of Osteoporosis in Women. J Bone Miner Res. 27(3):645-53. PMID:22113888

Pfeilschifter J, Cooper C, Watts NB, Flahive J, Saag KG, Adachi JD, Boonen S, Chapurlat R, Compston JE, Díez-Pérez A, LaCroix AZ, Netelenbos JC, Rossini M, Roux C, Sambrook PN, Silverman S, Siris ES. 2012. Regional and age-related variations in the proportions of hip fractures and major fractures among postmenopausal women: the Global Longitudinal Study of Osteoporosis in Women. Osteoporos Int. 23(8):2179-88. PMID:22086311

Gaffo AL, Schumacher HR, Saag KG, Taylor WJ, Dinnella J, Outman R, Chen L, Dalbeth N, Sivera F, Vázquez-Mellado J, Chou CT, Zeng X, Perez-Ruiz F, Kowalski SC, Goldenstein-Schainberg C, Chen L, Bardin T, Singh JA. 2012. Developing a provisional definition of flare in patients with established gout. Arthritis Rheum. 64(5):1508-17. PMID:22083456

Curtis JR, Xie F, Chen L, Baddley JW, Beukelman T, Saag KG, Spettell C, McMahan RM, Fernandes J, Winthrop K, Delzell E. 2011. The comparative risk of serious infections among rheumatoid arthritis patients starting or switching biological agents. Ann Rheum Dis. 2011 May 17. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 21586439

 
Beukelman T, Patkar NM, Saag KG, Tolleson-Rinehart S, Cron RQ, DeWitt EM, Ilowite NT, Kimura Y, Laxer RM, Lovell DJ, Martini A, Rabinovich CE, Ruperto N. 2001. 2011 American College of Rheumatology recommendations for the treatment of juvenile idiopathic arthritis: initiation and safety monitoring of therapeutic agents for the treatment of arthritis and systemic features. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 2011 Apr;63(4):465-82. PMID: 21452260

 
Zhang J, Yun H, Wright NC, Kilgore M, Saag KG, Delzell E. 2011. Potential and pitfalls of using large administrative claims data to study the safety of osteoporosis therapies. Curr Rheumatol Rep. 13(3):273-82. PMID: 21312073

 
Teitelbaum SL, Seton MP, Saag KG. 2011. Should bisphosphonates be used for long-term treatment of glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis? Arthritis Rheum. 63(2):325-8. PMID: 21279986

 
Saag KG, Yazdany J, Alexander C, Caplan L, Coblyn J, Desai SP, Harrington T Jr, Liu J, McNiff K, Newman E, Olson R; American College of Rheumatology Quality Measurement White Paper Development Workgroup. 2011. Defining quality of care in rheumatology: the American College of Rheumatology white paper on quality measurement. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 63(1):2-9.  PMID: 20945349

 
Curtis JR, Arora T, Matthews RS, Taylor A, Becker DJ, Colon-Emeric C, Kilgore ML, Morrisey MA, Saag KG, Safford MM, Warriner A, Delzell E. 2010. Is withholding osteoporosis medication after fracture sometimes rational? A comparison of the risk for second fracture versus death. J Am Med Dir Assoc. 11(8):584-91. PMID: 20889095

 
Gaffo AL, Saag KG. 2010. Febuxostat: the evidence for its use in the treatment of hyperuricemia and gout. Core Evid. 4:25-36. PMID: 20694062

 
Grossman JM, Gordon R, Ranganath VK, Deal C, Caplan L, Chen W, Curtis JR, Furst DE, McMahon M, Patkar NM, Volkmann E, Saag KG. 2010.  American College of Rheumatology 2010 recommendations for the prevention and treatment of glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 62(11):1515-26. PMID: 20662044

 
Schett G, Saag KG, Bijlsma JW. 2010. From bone biology to clinical outcome: state of the art and future perspectives. Ann Rheum Dis. 69(8):1415-9. PMID: 20650876

 
Curtis JR, Arora T, Narongroeknawin P, Taylor A, Bingham CO 3rd, Cush J, Saag KG, Safford M, Delzell E. 2010.  The delivery of evidence-based preventive care for older Americans with arthritis. Arthritis Res Ther. 12(4):R144. PMID: 20637072

 
Adachi JD, Adami S, Gehlbach S, Anderson FA Jr, Boonen S, Chapurlat RD, Compston JE, Cooper C, Delmas P, Díez-Pérez A, Greenspan SL, Hooven FH, LaCroix AZ, Lindsay R, Netelenbos JC, Wu O, Pfeilschifter J, Roux C, Saag KG, Sambrook PN, Silverman S, Siris ES, Nika G, Watts NB; GLOW Investigators. 2010. Impact of prevalent fractures on quality of life: baseline results from the global longitudinal study of osteoporosis in women. Mayo Clin Proc. 85(9):806-13.  PMID: 20634496

 
Miller MJ, Allison JJ, Schmitt MR, Ray MN, Funkhouser EM, Cobaugh DJ, Saag KG, LaCivita C. 2010. Using single-item health literacy screening questions to identify patients who read written nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medicine information provided at pharmacies. J Health Commun. 15(4):413-27. PMID: 20574879

 
Becker DJ, Yun H, Kilgore ML, Curtis JR, Delzell E, Gary LC, Saag KG, Morrisey MA. 2010. Health Services Utilization After Fractures: Evidence From Medicare. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 15(4):413-27. PMID: 20530242

 
Gaffo AL, Roseman JM, Jacobs DR Jr, Lewis CE, Shikany JM, Mikuls TR, Jolly PE, Saag KG. 2010. Serum urate and its relationship with alcoholic beverage intake in men and women: findings from the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) cohort. Ann Rheum Dis. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 20525839

 
Miller MJ, Schmitt MR, Allison JJ, Cobaugh DJ, Ray MN, Saag KG. 2010. The role of health literacy and written medicine information in nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug risk awareness. Ann Pharmacother. 44(2):274-84.PMID: 20103612

 
Eastell R, Chen P, Saag KG, Burshell AL, Wong M, Warner MR, Krege JH. 2010. Bone formation markers in patients with glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis treated with teriparatide or alendronate. Bone 46(4):929-34.PMID: 20060078

 
Lems WF, Saag KG. 2009. Preface. Best Pract Res Clin Rheumatol. 23(6):709-10. No abstract available. PMID: 19945683

 
Saag KG, Zanchetta JR, Devogelaer JP, Adler RA, Eastell R, See K, Krege JH, Krohn K, Warner MR. 2009. Effects of teriparatide versus alendronate for treating glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis: thirty-six-month results of a randomized, double-blind, controlled trial. Arthritis Rheum. 60(11):3346-55. PMID: 19877063

 
Gaffo AL, Edwards NL, Saag KG. 2009. Gout. Hyperuricemia and cardiovascular disease: how strong is the evidence for a causal link? Arthritis Res Ther. 11(4):240. Epub 2009 Aug 19. Review. PMID: 19725932

 
Kilgore ML, Morrisey MA, Becker DJ, Gary LC, Curtis JR, Saag KG, Yun H, Matthews R, Smith W, Taylor A, Arora T, Delzell E. 2009. Health care expenditures associated with skeletal fractures among Medicare beneficiaries, 1999-2005. J Bone Miner Res. 24(12):2050-5. PMID: 19453260 

 
Angner E, Ray MN, Saag KG, Allison JJ. 2009. Health and happiness among older adults: a community-based study. J Health Psychol. 14(4):503-12. PMID: 19383651
 

Reid DM, Devogelaer JP, Saag K, Roux C, Lau CS, Reginster JY, Papanastasiou P, Ferreira A, Hartl F, Fashola T, Mesenbrink P, Sambrook PN; HORIZON investigators. 2009. Zoledronic acid and risedronate in the prevention and treatment of glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis (HORIZON): a multicentre, double-blind, double-dummy, randomised controlled trial. Lancet. 373(9671):1253-63. PMID: 19362675

 
Yazdany J, Panopalis P, Gillis JZ, Schmajuk G, MacLean CH, Wofsy D, Yelin E; Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Quality Indicators Project Expert Panels. 2009. A quality indicator set for systemic lupus erythematosus. Arthritis Rheum. 61(3):370-7. PMID: 19248127

 
Teng GG, Curtis JR, Saag KG. 2009. Quality health care gaps in osteoporosis: how can patients, providers, and the health system do a better job? Curr Osteoporos Rep. 7(1):27-34. Review. PMID: 19239827

 
Burnett-Bowie SM, Saag K, Sebba A, de Papp AE, Chen E, Rosenberg E, Greenspan SL. 2009. Prediction of changes in bone mineral density in postmenopausal women treated with once-weekly bisphosphonates. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 94(4):1097-103. PMID: 19141590 

 
Stoch SA, Saag KG, Greenwald M, Sebba AI, Cohen S, Verbruggen N, Giezek H, West J, Schnitzer TJ. 2009. Once-weekly oral alendronate 70 mg in patients with glucocorticoid-induced bone loss: a 12-month randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial. J Rheumatol. 36(8):1705-14. PMID: 19487264

 
Watts NB, Lewiecki EM, Bonnick SL, Laster AJ, Binkley N, Blank RD, Geusens PP, Miller PD, Petak SM, Recker RR, Saag KG, Schousboe J, Siris ES, Bilezikian JP. 2009. Clinical value of monitoring BMD in patients treated with bisphosphonates for osteoporosis. J Bone Miner Res. 24(10):1643-6. No abstract available. PMID: 19712042

 
Curtis JR, McClure LA, Delzell E, Howard VJ, Orwoll E, Saag KG, Safford M, Howard G. 2009. Population-based fracture risk assessment and osteoporosis treatment disparities by race and gender. J Gen Intern Med. 24(8):956-62. PMID: 19551449

 
Saag KG, Geusens P. 2009. Progress in osteoporosis and fracture prevention: focus on postmenopausal women. Arthritis Res Ther. 11(5):251. Epub 2009 Oct 14. PMID: 19849819

 
Curtis JR, Adachi JD, Saag KG. 2009. Bridging the osteoporosis quality chasm. J Bone Miner Res. 24(1):3-7.  PMID: 19016597

 
Gaffo AL, Saag KG. 2008. Serum urate, menopause, and postmenopausal hormone use: from eminence to evidence-based medicine. Arthritis Res Ther. 10(5):120. PMID: 18983690