Relationship between PTH, sex steroid and bone turnover marker measurements and bone density in recently postmenopausal women.
OBJECTIVE
It is conceivable that, since menopause accelerates the continuous bone loss determined by age, a specific configuration of bone mass determinants during the first postmenopausal years occurs.


METHODS
To establish their value as indicators of bone mass in women with recent natural menopause, we assessed relationships between bone mineral density (BMD) and age, menopausal age, body mass index (BMI), PTH, sex steroid hormones (estradiol and testosterone), and several markers of bone turnover in urine (N-telopeptide and calcium/creatinine ratio) or serum (osteocalcin (OC), total alkaline phosphatase (ALP), total and ionic calcium (iCa), phosphate (P) and magnesium (Mg)) for a group of 118 women (mean of three measurements per subject) attending a third-level menopause unit. Multivariate analysis was used in addition to Pearson's correlation to detect relationships between variables.


RESULTS
Several significant associations were detected between variables under Pearson's correlation analysis, but only a few were confirmed under multivariate analysis. Thus, among the clinical traits, age was the main predictor of BMD for femoral neck (P<0.05). Estradiol (E(2)) was the only parameter that attained significance as a predictor for lumbar spine BMD (P<0.05), whereas PTH and NTx levels emerged as predictors of BMD for femoral neck (P<0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
In this group of recently postmenopausal women, hormonal status, as defined by E(2) and PTH, and a resorption marker (NTx), revealed, together with age, as the only significant predictors of BMD.
García-Pérez
Miguel Angel
MA
Research Unit, Hospital Clínico Universitario de Valencia, 46010 Valencia, Spain.
Moreno-Mercer
Jane
J
Tarín
Juan J
JJ
Cano
Antonio
A
D000469:Alkaline Phosphatase / Q000097:blood; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D015519:Bone Density; D002118:Calcium / Q000652:urine; D003094:Collagen / Q000652:urine; D024042:Collagen Type I; D003404:Creatinine / Q000652:urine; D004958:Estradiol / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008274:Magnesium / Q000097:blood; D008875:Middle Aged; D015675:Osteocalcin / Q000097:blood; D015663:Osteoporosis, Postmenopausal / Q000097:blood*; D010281:Parathyroid Hormone / Q000097:blood; D010455:Peptides / Q000652:urine; D010710:Phosphates / Q000097:blood; D012016:Reference Values; D013739:Testosterone / Q000097:blood
D015415:Biomarkers; D024042:Collagen Type I; D010281:Parathyroid Hormone; D010455:Peptides; D010710:Phosphates; C052929:collagen type I trimeric cross-linked peptide; D015675:Osteocalcin; D013739:Testosterone; D004958:Estradiol; D003094:Collagen; D003404:Creatinine; D000469:Alkaline Phosphatase; D008274:Magnesium; D002118:Calcium