Urinary deoxypyridinoline is a BMD-independent marker for prevalent vertebral fractures in postmenopausal women treated with glucocorticoid.
CONCLUSIONS
Urinary deoxypyridinoline (DPD) level was associated with prevalent vertebral fractures in glucocorticoid (GC)-treated postmenopausal women independently of lumbar spine bone mineral density (BMD).


BACKGROUND
Bone metabolic indices are the potential predictors of bone fragility. However, their diagnostic efficiency for identifying the risk of GC-induced vertebral fractures is still unclear. We therefore evaluated whether bone metabolic indices would assess the risk of vertebral fractures in GC-treated women.


METHODS
One hundred seventy-five women treated with GC for more than 6 months were enrolled in this study.


RESULTS
Both premenopausal and postmenopausal women with vertebral fractures had significantly higher urinary DPD levels than those without vertebral fractures. When multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed with the presence of vertebral fractures as a dependent variable and each of DPD or osteocalcin level adjusted for age, weight, height, current and maximum doses of GC, duration of GC treatment, as well as lumbar spine BMD as an independent variable, DPD level was identified as a factor associated with the presence of vertebral fractures in postmenopausal women but not in premenopausal women.


CONCLUSIONS
Urinary DPD level was significantly associated with prevalent vertebral fractures in GC-treated postmenopausal women independently of lumbar spine BMD.
Kaji
H
H
Division of Diabetes, Metabolism and Endocrinology, Department of Internal Medicine, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, 7-5-2 Kusunoki-cho, Chuo-ku, Kobe 650-0017, Japan. hiroshik@med.kobe-u.ac.jp
Yamauchi
M
M
Yamaguchi
T
T
Sugimoto
T
T
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000596:Amino Acids / Q000652:urine*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000652:urine; D015519:Bone Density / Q000502:physiology; D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae / Q000503:physiopathology; D008875:Middle Aged; D015663:Osteoporosis, Postmenopausal / Q000150:complications* / Q000652:urine; D058866:Osteoporotic Fractures / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D017697:Premenopause / Q000502:physiology; D016103:Spinal Fractures / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D055815:Young Adult
D000596:Amino Acids; D015415:Biomarkers; D005938:Glucocorticoids; C036020:deoxypyridinoline