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


CONCLUSIONS
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.
Hari Kumar
K V S
KV
Department of Endocrinology, Medwin Hospitals, Hyderabad, India.
Muthukrishnan
Jayaraman
J
Verma
Abhyuday
A
Modi
Kirtikumar D
KD
D015502:Absorptiometry, Photon; D000368:Aged; D000469:Alkaline Phosphatase / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D000596:Amino Acids / Q000652:urine; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood* / Q000378:metabolism; D015519:Bone Density / Q000502:physiology; D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000378:metabolism*; D002112:Calcifediol / Q000097:blood; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D015675:Osteocalcin / Q000097:blood; D015663:Osteoporosis, Postmenopausal / Q000097:blood* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000378:metabolism / Q000652:urine; D010281:Parathyroid Hormone / Q000097:blood; D017698:Postmenopause / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism / Q000652:urine
D000596:Amino Acids; D015415:Biomarkers; D010281:Parathyroid Hormone; D015675:Osteocalcin; C036020:deoxypyridinoline; D000469:Alkaline Phosphatase; D002112:Calcifediol