Does vertebral bone marrow fat content correlate with abdominal adipose tissue, lumbar spine bone mineral density, and blood biomarkers in women with type 2 diabetes mellitus?

PURPOSE: To compare vertebral bone marrow fat content quantified with proton MR spectroscopy ((1)H-MRS) with the volume of abdominal adipose tissue, lumbar spine volumetric bone mineral density (vBMD), and blood biomarkers in postmenopausal women with and without type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirteen postmenopausal women with T2DM and 13 age- and body mass index-matched healthy controls were included in this study. All subjects underwent (1)H-MRS of L1-L3 to quantify vertebral bone marrow fat content (FC) and unsaturated lipid fraction (ULF). Quantitative computed tomography (QCT) was performed to assess vBMD of L1-L3. The volumes of abdominal subcutaneous/visceral/total adipose tissue were determined from the QCT images and adjusted for abdominal body volume (SAT(adj)/VAT(adj)/TAT(adj)). Fasting blood tests included plasma glucose and HbA1c.
RESULTS: Mean FC showed an inverse correlation with vBMD (r = -0.452; P < 0.05) in the whole study population. While mean FC was similar in the diabetic women and healthy controls (69.3 ± 7.5% versus 67.5 ± 6.1%; P > 0.05), mean ULF was significantly lower in the diabetic group (6.7 ± 1.0% versus 7.9 ± 1.6%; P < 0.05). SAT(adj) and TAT(adj) correlated significantly with mean FC in the whole study population (r = 0.538 and r = 0.466; P < 0.05). In contrast to the control group, significant correlations of mean FC with VAT(adj) and HbA1c were observed in the diabetic group (r = 0.642 and r = 0.825; P < 0.05).
CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated that vertebral bone marrow fat content correlates significantly with SAT(adj), TAT(adj), and lumbar spine vBMD in postmenopausal women with and without T2DM, but with VAT(adj) and HbA1c only in women with T2DM.