Correlation between bone markers and bone mineral density in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

To study the relationship between bone markers and bone mineral density (BMD) in an effort to identify their utility in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis.

METHODS:

Eighty-two consecutive postmenopausal women with untreated osteoporosis were included in the study. Forearm, spinal, and femoral BMD by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry and markers of bone formation (serum osteocalcin and bone-specific alkaline phosphatase) and bone resorption (urinary free deoxypyridinoline) were measured in all patients. Patients with low serum vitamin D levels, secondary osteoporosis, or clinically significant systemic disease were excluded from the study. The patients were classified on the basis of BMD of the lumbar spine into the following 3 groups: mild (n = 23) (T score -2.5 through -3), moderate (n = 42) (T score -3.1 through -4), or severe (n = 17) (T score <or=-4.1) osteoporosis. One-way analysis of variance and Pearson correlation were used for statistical analysis, with a P value <.05 being considered significant.

RESULTS:

Serum osteocalcin was significantly different among the 3 study groups (4.1 +/- 2.7, 4.5 +/- 3.1, and 6.7 +/- 5.6 ng/mL, respectively; P = .0349) and had a significant negative correlation with BMD (r2 = -0.0779; P = .0168). Other bone markers such as bone-specific alkaline phosphatase and urinary free deoxypyridinoline did not correlate with the underlying BMD.

CONCLUSION:

In our study, osteocalcin was significantly correlated with BMD in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis. Other bone markers did not correlate with BMD. Further large-scale population data and analyses are needed to confirm these findings.

• Authors: K V S Hari Kumar, Jayaraman Muthukrishnan, Abhyuday Verma, Kirtikumar D Modi
• Journal: Endocrine practice : official journal of the American College of Endocrinology and the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (Endocr Pract) Vol. 14 Issue 9 Pg. 1102-7 (Dec 2008) ISSN: 1934-2403 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 19158049 (Publication Type: Journal Article)

Chemical References

• Amino Acids
• Biomarkers
• Parathyroid Hormone
• Osteocalcin
• deoxypyridinoline
• Alkaline Phosphatase
• Calcifediol

Topics

• Absorptiometry, Photon
• Aged
• Alkaline Phosphatase (analysis, metabolism)
• Amino Acids (urine)
• Biomarkers (blood, metabolism)
• Bone Density (physiology)
• Bone and Bones (metabolism)
• Calcifediol (blood)
• Cross-Sectional Studies
• Female
• Humans
• Middle Aged
• Osteocalcin (blood)
• Osteoporosis, Postmenopausal (blood, diagnostic imaging, metabolism, urine)
• Parathyroid Hormone (blood)
• Postmenopause (blood, metabolism, urine)