Type 2 diabetes mellitus and osteopenia: is there an association?

We report the results of bone mineral density (BMD) measurements in type 2 diabetic patients, in comparison to healthy controls. In this prospective study, a total of 277 subjects (aged 30-60 years) with type 2 diabetes mellitus, outpatients at the Cukurova Medical School Hospital, were evaluated for BMD at L(1)-L(4) lumbar vertebrae and at the femur (neck, trochanter, Ward's triangle and total) by DEXA (dual energy X-ray absorptiometry). The patients' diabetes duration, treatment, glycemic control and chronic diabetic complications were recorded, and these data were evaluated for any relationship in respect to the BMD measurements. BMD results of the diabetic patients were compared with those of 262 healthy non-diabetic control subjects living in the same geographic region. BMD was found to be increased at the femoral neck among diabetic women and men aged 51-60 years. However, BMD values at lumbar regions of diabetic men where lower than control in all age group. There was no difference in values of BMD for both genders in the other regions. Type 2 diabetic patients may have lower, similar or higher BMD measurements at different ages and anatomic regions, so each patient should be evaluated individually. Further studies are needed to make a conclusion on this issue.