Men's Osteoporosis Support Group

Several recent osteoporosis-related studies

Introduction. The recent literature has many studies that pertain to osteoporosis so I'm going to briefly highlight each below. I also want to mention the Cron-O-Meter. Some of these articles on this site, and particularly the one on zinc below, have information that pertains to nutrient intake which you can monitor in your own diet easily with a free program called Cron-O-Meter.

J Obstet Gynaecol Res. 2009 Feb;35(1):152-9. Role of type I collagen C telopeptide, bone-specific alkaline phosphatase and osteocalcin in the assessment of bone status in postmenopausal women. Trento LK and others. PMID: 19215563. Bone turnover markers (BTMs) are often used to evaluate the progress of osteoporosis therapy with approved medications such as bisphosphonates or teriparatide. This study investigated type I collagen C telopeptide (CTX), osteocalcin (OC) and bone-specific alkaline phosphatase (BAP) in the assessment of bone status in women with postmenopausal osteoporosis. They found, "Determination of s-CTX, BAP and OC is of limited clinical value in the initial evaluation of bone status in menopausal women." Thus meaning that dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) is still the most reliable method to determine if an individual has osteoporosis. Initial BTMs are not particularly helpful for this.

J Nutr. 2009 Feb 11. Long-Term Marginal Zinc Supply Is Not Detrimental to the Skeleton of Aged Female Rats. Erben RG and others. PMID: 19211826. Several minerals are important for bone health, with calcium being by far the most important. A Newsletter on this site has a discussion of the importance of various minerals and other micronutrients according to information from Dr. Robert P. Heaney. Zinc (Zn) is included as an important mineral in that discussion. Particularly some vegetarian diets may be somewhat low in zinc, so it is important to know if that might be significant for bone health. The authors note, "However, apart from subtle changes in bone mineralization density distribution, Zn deficiency was not associated with detrimental effects on bone mineral density, turnover, architecture, or biomechanics relative to control rats at any time point. Our data suggest that Zn does not play an essential role in bone metabolism in aged rats and cast doubt on the hypothesis that Zn deficiency is a risk factor for osteoporosis." Thus marginal zinc supply, at least in rats, doesn't appear to affect bone whatsoever. That does not mean a diet void or nearly void of zinc intake wouldn't have different effects on bone metabolism. And, if you check the Related Articles on the right of the PubMed abstract, you'll see articles that show low zinc intake can effect some enzymes and possibly other body tissues or systems. So it can be important to monitor your intake if you are concerned at all, just not apparently a high risk factor for osteoporosis.

J Bone Miner Res. 2009 Feb 11. [Epub ahead of print]. Advanced Vertebral Fracture among Newly Diagnosed Children with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia: Results of the Canadian STeroid-associated Osteoporosis in the Pediatric Population (STOPP) Research Program. Halton J and others. PMID: 19210218. Childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), besides its effect on the blood and lymph, can also cause vertebral compression fractures in these young children. This is the first article I've seen regarding this osteoporosis-related problem in children with ALL. The authors conclude, "These results show that vertebral compression is an under-recognized complication of newly diagnosed ALL. Whether the fractures will resolve through bone growth during or after leukemia chemotherapy remains to be determined." So those with friends or family members who are diagnosed with ALL will need to be sure their care providers are aware of this problem and any treatments that are found effective for the spinal compression fractures.

JAMA. 2009 Feb 4;301(5):513-21. Mortality risk associated with low-trauma osteoporotic fracture and subsequent fracture in men and women. Bliuc D and others. PMID: 19190316. We often hear of the risk of death for those who have osteoporotic fractures and this study highlights that risk in detail. This Australian study covered the years from 1989 to 2007 and involved individuals aged 60 or older who suffered low-trauma fractures. The results included, "In women, there were 952 low-trauma fractures followed by 461 deaths, and in men, 343 fractures were followed by 197 deaths." And they noted, "Mortality was increased for all ages for all fractures except minor fractures for which increased mortality was only apparent for those older than 75 years." Mortality after a fracture in women and men was also related to age, quadriceps weakness, and subsequent fracture. The authors conclude, "In a sample of older women and men, all low-trauma fractures were associated with increased mortality risk for 5 to 10 years." The message of this study is to prevent or treat osteoporosis, maintain physical fitness, and avoid falls to prevent premature death from osteoporotic fractures.

Haemophilia. 2009 Jan 24. [Epub ahead of print]. Prevalence and risk factors associated with decreased bone mineral density in patients with haemophilia. Gerstner G and others. PMID: 19187193. This study was looking at the prevalence and risk factors for osteoporosis in people with moderate or severe A or B hemophilia and included thirty individuals with a median age of 41.5 years. The results showed that 27% had osteoporosis and 43% had osteopenia. Multiple factors increased the risk, including: low vitamin D levels, lower body mass index, lower activity scores, decreased joint range of motion, HIV, and others. The bottom line is that individuals with hemophilia are at increased risk for osteoporosis and should take steps to prevent osteoporosis or to be properly diagnosed and treated, as appropriate. This would primarily include referral to an endocrinologist, rheumatologist, or other osteoporosis specialist, particularly if routine vitamin D testing shows low serum concentration, or the individual has other listed risk factors.

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