Abstract:

Objectives: The aim of this study was to seek correlations between bone mineral density (BMD) and biochemical markers of bone turnover during early and late postmenopausal period. Materials and methods: The study included 64 postmenopausal women (mean age 56.5 years; range 41 to 75 years) who did not have any disease or receive treatment that might affect bone metabolism and bone turnover, respectively. The participants were divided into two age groups, namely 41 to 60 years of age (n=40), and beyond 60 years of age (n=24). The mean postmenopausal period was 5.3 years in group 1, and 16.7 years in group 2. Serum levels of estrogen, progesterone, parathormone, osteocalcin, and urinary deoxypridinoline (DPD) were measured and serum C-terminal telopeptide of the alpha-1 chain of type I collagen (CTx), calcium, and alkaline phosphatase levels were determined. Analysis of BMD was made by a dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) densitometer. Results: Positive correlations were found between serum osteocalcin, serum CTx, and urinary DPD. A negative correlation with age existed for BMD of the femoral neck, but not for BMD of the spine. Concentrations of bone turnover markers were similar in both groups. Conclusion: Incorporation of bone turnover markers, in particular bone resorption markers into BMD analysis might be more useful in assessing bone turnover and bone loss rates at an earlier stage in postmenopausal osteoporosis.

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