Bone mineral loss in insulin-treated diabetes mellitus: studies on pathogenesis.

To elucidate pathogenetic factors of bone mineral loss in diabetes mellitus, bone mineral content (BMC), glucose and calcium homeostasis were evaluated in a cross-sectionsl study of 215 insulin-treated diabetics. BMC declined 10% during the first 5 years of diabetes. This coincided with cessation of insulin secretion, deterioration of metabolic control and raising urinary calcium excretion rates of calcium and phosphorus. BMC was inversely correlated to fasting blood glucose (P less than 0.02), to glycosuria (P less than 0.02) and to insulin requirement (P less than 0.002), and positively to the glucagon-stimulated serum C-peptide levels (P less than 0.005). Urinary excretion rates of calcium and phosphorus correlated positively with the degree of hyperglycaemia (P less than 0.001) and glycosuria (P less than 0.001). The skeletal calcium loss corresponded to the excess of urinary excretion during the phase of BMC reduction. There was no evidence of secondary hyperparathyroidism. The relationship between bone loss and disturbed glucose homeostasis indicates that diabetic bone loss is secondary to the metabolic abnormalities, possibly acting directly on bone.