Bone Loss in Women with Type 1 Diabetes

Background: Although osteoporosis has been investigated and debated in the diabetic population over the past decades, very little is known about the spontaneous changes in bone mineral density (BMD) and biochemical markers of bone turnover in pre- and postmenopausal type 1 diabetic (T1DM) women over time. Aim: To measure spontaneous changes in BMD and biochemical markers of bone turnover in pre- and postmenopausal T1DM women. Subjects: 53 T1DM women (31 premenopausal and 22 postmenopausal) from the outpatient clinic were enrolled in the study in 1993 and 35 (22 premenopausal, 13 postmenopausal) were reexamined in 1997. Method: BMD was measured at femoral neck (f.n.), spine (L2 - L4), total body and forearm with DXA or SXA in 53 T1DM women. 4 years later a re-scan was carried out on 35 T1DM. Results: In premenopausal subjects a yearly decrease less than 1% at f.n., spine, forearm and total body was observed, though only statistically significant (s.s.) at f.n., p ≤ 0.05. In postmenopausal subjects a s.s. decrease less than 2% was observed at f.n., forearm and total body, p ≤ 0.05. In general, osteopenic or osteoporotic values were observed at the measured skeletal sites. Only at f.n. a lower s.s. BMD compared to age-matched reference women was seen. Conclusion: Small or non-significant changes in BMD and biochemical markers of bone turnover were observed in pre- and postmenopausal T1DM subjects after a 4-year period.