Could lower bone turnover be a cause of chest pain during childhood?
Chest pain, a frequent complaint during childhood, rarely originates from a cardiac pathology. Although it usually is idiopathic, it also could be associated with psychogenic, musculoskeletal, respiratory, and digestive disorders. This study aimed to investigate a possible relation between bone mineral density and chest pain in children. Bone mineral density and bone metabolism parameters were measured for 50 children with chest pain, and the findings were compared with those for 40 age- and sex-matched healthy children. Most of the cases (64%) were in the idiopathic group, and musculoskeletal chest pain was the second most frequent complaint (12%). Although bone mineral densities and osteocalcin levels did not differ significantly between the whole chest pain group and the control group, both were found to be lower in the musculoskeletal chest pain group than in other groups and the control group (p < 0.05). Musculoskeletal chest pain may be related to reduced bone mineral metabolism, and monitoring of risk factors is of particular importance.
Sanli
Cihat
C
Department of Pediatric Cardiology, Faculty of Medicine, Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey. ycsanli@yahoo.com
Akalin
Nursel
N
Kocak
Ulker
U
Erol
Reyhan
R
Albayrak
Meryem
M
Aliefendioglu
Didem
D
Hizel
Selda
S
D000293:Adolescent; D015519:Bone Density; D001851:Bone Diseases, Metabolic / Q000150:complications*; D016723:Bone Remodeling; D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000378:metabolism*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002637:Chest Pain / Q000209:etiology*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012307:Risk Factors