[Bone loss is more severe in younger Cushing's syndrome women than in older ones: comparison of bone mineral density between Cushing's syndrome and healthy women].
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the influence of age on bone mass in Cushing's syndrome patients.


METHODS
Measurement of bone mineral density (BMD) was conducted among 57 women with Cushing's syndrome (CS) and 49 healthy women. There were 14 CS women and 14 healthy women in the group aged 20 - 29; 27 CS women and 15 healthy women in the group aged 30 - 39; and 16 CS women and 20 healthy women in the group aged 40 - 49.


RESULTS
Among the healthy women the peak bone mass of lumbar spine was in the group aged 30 - 39, while the peak bone mass of hip was in the group aged 20 - 29. The BMD values of the CS women were lower than those of the healthy women, especially those in lumbar spine and in Ward's triangle. The younger the CS women, the lower the BMD Z-score (for the BMD Z-score of lumbar spine P = 0.021, for the BMD Z-score of femoral neck P = 0.020, and for the BMD Z-score of Ward's triangle P = 0.026). Seventeen of the 57 (29.8%) CS women had osteoporosis, 29 (50.9%) of the 57 had osteopenia, and 15 (26.3%) had fractures. The CS women with bone fractures had lower BMD Z-score than those without fractures (for lumbar fracture P = 0.003).


CONCLUSIONS
The BMD of CS women is lower than that of the healthy women. Bone loss is more severe in younger CS women than in older ones. CS women with low BMD are prone to have bone fracture.
Jiang
Yan
Y
Department of Endocrinology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College, Peking Union Medical Collage Hospital, Beijing 100730, China.
Meng
Xun-wu
XW
Lu
Zhao-lin
ZL
Xia
Wei-bo
WB
Xing
Xiao-ping
XP
Li
Mei
M
Wang
Ou
O
Yu
Wei
W
Tian
Jun-ping
JP
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D015519:Bone Density; D001851:Bone Diseases, Metabolic / Q000150:complications / Q000378:metabolism; D003480:Cushing Syndrome / Q000150:complications / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D010024:Osteoporosis / Q000150:complications / Q000378:metabolism*