UNASSIGNED: A common complication of thalassemia is secondary osteoporosis. This study aimed to assess the prevalence and factors associated with low BMD in thalassemic patients.
UNASSIGNED: This is a cross-sectional study. Eligible patients were males aged within 18-49 years or premenopausal women diagnosed with thalassemia in Chiang Mai University Hospital between July 2021 and July 2022. The diagnosis of low BMD by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) was defined as a Z-score of -2.0 SD or lower in either the lumbar spine or femoral neck. Clinical factors associated with low BMD were analyzed using a logistic regression model.
UNASSIGNED: Prevalence of low BMD was 62.4% from 210 patients with a mean age of 29.7 ± 7.6 years. The predominant clinical characteristics of low BMD thalassemia patients were being female, transfusion-dependent (TDT) and a history of splenectomy. From multivariable analysis, the independent variables associated with low BMD were transfusion dependency (odds ratio, OR 2.36; 95%CI 1.28 to 4.38; p=0.006) and body mass index (BMI) (OR 0.71; 95%CI 0.61 to 0.82; p<0.001). Among patients with low BMD, we observed a correlation between a Z-score with low IGF-1 levels (β=-0.42; 95% CI -0.83 to -0.01; p=0.040), serum phosphate levels (β=0.40; 95% CI 0.07 to 0.73; p=0.016) and hypogonadism (β=-0.48, 95% CI -0.91 to -0.04, p=0.031).
UNASSIGNED: This study found a prevalence of low BMD in 62.4% of subjects. Factors associated with low BMD were TDT and BMI. Within the low BMD subgroup, hypogonadism, serum phosphate and low serum IGF-1 levels were associated with a lower Z-score.

UNASSIGNED: We aimed to document the current state of exposure to low bone mineral density (BMD) and trends in attributable burdens between 2000 and 2019 globally and in different World Health Organization (WHO) regions using the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study 2019.
UNASSIGNED: We reviewed the sex-region-specific summary exposure value (SEV) of low BMD and the all-ages numbers and age-standardized rates of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), years lived with disability (YLDs), years of life lost (YLLs), and deaths attributed to low BMD. We compared different WHO regions (Africa, the Eastern Mediterranean Region, Europe, Region of the Americas, Southeast Asia, and Western Pacific), age categories, and sexes according to the estimates of the GBD 2019 report.
UNASSIGNED: The global age-standardized SEV of low BMD is estimated to be 20.7% in women and 11.3% in men in 2019. Among the WHO regions, Africa had the highest age-standardized SEV of low BMD in women (28.8% (95% uncertainty interval 22.0-36.3)) and men (16.8% (11.5-23.8)). The lowest SEV was observed in Europe in both women (14.7% (9.9-21.0)) and men (8.0% (4.3-13.4)). An improving trend in the global rate of DALY, death, and YLL was observed during 2000-2019 (-5.7%, -4.7%, and -11.9% change, respectively); however, the absolute numbers increased with the highest increase observed in global YLD (70.9%) and death numbers (67.6%). Southeast Asia Region had the highest age-standardized rates of DALY (303.4 (249.2-357.2)), death (10.6 (8.5-12.3)), YLD (133.5 (96.9-177.3)), and YLL (170.0 (139-197.7)).
UNASSIGNED: Overall, the highest-burden attributed to low BMD was observed in the Southeast Asia Region. Knowledge of the SEV of low BMD and the attributed burden can increase the awareness of healthcare decision-makers to adopt appropriate strategies for early screening, and also strategies to prevent falls and fragility fractures and their consequent morbidity and mortality.

UNASSIGNED: Osteoporosis is a common chronic disease characterized by low bone mineral density (BMD) and microarchitectural deterioration of the bone, which are associated with increased risk of fragility fractures. Currently the most popular tool is the fracture risk assessment model FRAX to calculate the 10-year probability of major osteoporotic fractures (MOF) and hip fractures (HF).
UNASSIGNED: To investigate the prevalence of low BMD at axial sites and fracture risk in Bulgarian population.
UNASSIGNED: We retrospectively analyzed dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scan results of 12 478 subjects. Scan results included BMD and T-score assessments of lumbar spine and femoral neck. FRAX major osteoprotic fracture (MOF) and FRAX hip fracture (HF) were assessed in subjects between 40 and 90 years using BMD values.
UNASSIGNED: Of total 12478 subjects, 12119 were women and 359 were men. The mean age of the subjects was 61 years (yrs.) ± 10 yrs. The overall prevalence of low BMD at the lumbar spine was 6084/9336 subjects (65.2%). 3502/9336 subjects (37.5%) were considered as osteopenic and 2582/9336 subjects (27.7%) were considered as osteoporotic. The overall prevalence of low BMD at the femoral neck was 2036/3140 (64.8%). 1641/3140 subjects (52.3%) were classified as osteopenic and 395/3 140 subjects (12.6%) were classified as osteoporotic. The mean values of FRAX MOF and FRAX HF increased significantly with increasing the age interval.
UNASSIGNED: This study is the largest epidemiological research in Bulgaria up to date about the prevalence of low BMD at axial sites.

UNASSIGNED: Low bone mineral density (BMD) is a common complication in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). However, debates are ongoing with regard to the other involved factors, especially in younger patients. This study aimed to evaluate the parameters that contribute to decreased BMD, focusing on premenopausal women and men aged <50 years.
UNASSIGNED: This study included 81 patients with IBD and 81 age-, sex- and BMI-matched controls. Blood tests were conducted on IBD patients, and a dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scan was performed on both groups.
UNASSIGNED: Low BMD and fragility fracture were found to be more prevalent in IBD patients than in healthy subjects (49.3% vs 23.4%, P = 0.001 and 9.8% vs 1.2%, P = 0.01, respectively). Patients with low BMD were older, with a longer disease duration, higher faecal calprotectin (FC) levels and lower magnesium and lean mass (appreciated as appendicular skeletal muscle index (ASMI)). Multiple regression analysis revealed that ASMI, age and use of glucocorticoids were the independent parameters for decreased BMD. Although 91.3% of the patients had a 25-hydroxy vitamin D level of <30 ng/mL, it was not a statistically significant factor for decreased BMD.
UNASSIGNED: In our study, the levels of vitamin D did not seem to have an important impact on BMD. Conversely, FC, magnesium and lean mass are important factors, suggesting that good control of disease, adequate magnesium intake and increased lean mass can have a good impact on bone metabolism in patients with IBD.

Mislabeling of T12 vertebra as L1 has been shown to reduce L1-L4 bone mineral density (BMD). However, the effect of such mislabeling on the L1-L4 BMD and prevalence of osteoporosis and/or osteopenia in a clinical setting is not known. The study aimed to the effect of mislabelling of T12 as L1 on the L1-L4 BMD and diagnosis of osteoporosis and/or osteopenia. It is a retrospective study done at a tertiary health care center in South India. Database of dual X-ray absorptiometry machine at our center was reviewed and BMD data of men aged more than 50 years and postmenopausal women who underwent BMD during the last 3.5 years were included in the analysis. A total of 570 subjects had undergone BMD testing at the lumbar spine of whom images of the T12 and lower part of the T11 were available for 293 subjects. Six of these with ≤1 eligible vertebra for the calculation of L1-L4 BMD were further excluded from the analysis. The BMD data of the remaining 287 subjects were noted. Later T12 was labeled as L1 and a new set of BMD data was obtained. Using the WHO classification, BMD status was classified as normal BMD, osteopenia, and osteoporosis for both the analyses. L1-L4 BMD (0.916 ± 0.163 vs 0.937 ± 0.170, p < 0.0001) and T-scores of L1-L4 (-2.23 ± 1.37 vs -2.06 ± 1.43, p < 0.0001) with mislabeling were significantly lower than those measured with correct labeling. BMD status was misclassified by T12 mislabelling as L1 in a total of 30 (10.4%) individuals. Inter-rater agreement between the 2 scenarios for the diagnosis of osteoporosis, osteopenia, and normal BMD was substantial (weighted Kappa: 0.87 [95%CI: 0.83-0.91]). To conclude, mislabeling of T12 as L1 significantly reduces L1-L4 BMD. However, the diagnosis of BMD status by mislabeling has a substantial agreement with that obtained with correct labeling.

Osteoporosis detection at earlier stages can enhance the life span of an elderly individual. The aim of the study is to perform semi-automated measurement of mandibular cortical thickness (MCT) on a dental panoramic radiograph (DPR) and thereby to predict the risk of low BMD among the studied population. The study involved 76 women (mean age: 57.2 ± 12.6 years). The DPR was obtained using KODAK 8000C system. The BMD of right total hip (T-BMD) was obtained using DPX Prodigy Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) Scanner. The DPR obtained were subjected to image processing techniques to perform MCT measurement. The region of interest was manually selected around the mental foramen and enhanced using a median filter. The Ostu segmentation was performed and connected component labelling operation was performed to determine the lower boundary by finding the contour with maximum area. Subsequently, the haar wavelet operation was carried out to find the magnitude and thereby select the upper delineating cortical boundary. The Pearson test results revealed (r = 0.96, p < 0.01) for the standard (manual) MCT measurement against the MCT measured using the proposed semi-automated scheme. ROC analysis revealed that MCT = 2.5 mm could be an optimal threshold in spotting individuals at risk of low BMD. The results of the study revealed that the MCT measured on a DPR using the proposed approach could be helpful for identifying individuals at risk of low BMD.

OBJECTIVE: Osteoporosis and osteopenia are multifactorial diseases characterized by low bone mineral density (BMD) and are susceptible to genetic and environmental risk factors. The macrophage erythroblast attacher (MAEA) was discovered as a protein to mediate the attachment of erythroid cells to macrophages and is essential for bone marrow hematopoiesis. MAEA is expressed in a wide range of cells and tissues including osteoblasts and osteoclasts. Recent studies have shown that a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs6815464 (C/G) in the MAEA gene increases the susceptibility of type 2 diabetes mellitus. However, the contribution of MAEA to bone metabolism remains unknown. Therefore, we performed this study to evaluate the association between MAEA polymorphism and low BMD.
METHODS: In a cross-sectional study with postmenopausal Japanese women living in the Yokogoshi area, Niigata City, we evaluated whether rs6815464 was associated with low BMD. Blood samples were collected from 353 subjects (age 63.8 ± 5.4 years). The MAEA genotype was determined by TaqMan assay. BMD was assessed by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry at the lumbar spine (L2-L4), hip and femoral neck. Low BMD was defined as a T-score <-1.
RESULTS: The percentage of subjects with low BMD in the lumbar spine, total hip and femoral neck were 71%, 75% and 84% respectively. After adjusting age, BMI, HbA1c, smoking and alcohol consumption, the G-allele carriage was found to be associated with low BMD of total hip (odds ratio = 2.11, 95% CI: 1.14-3.91, P = 0.018), but not of the lumbar spine or femoral neck.
CONCLUSIONS: The MAEA gene polymorphism rs6815464 was associated with low hip BMD in postmenopausal Japanese women.

The negative effects of type 1 diabetes (T1D) on growth factors of bone metabolism lead to a reduction in bone mineral density. This study aimed to evaluate the association between bone mineral density and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1), insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF1R) and transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGFB1) expressions in children and adolescents with T1D. Moreover, the influences of age at diagnosis, time since diagnosis, glycaemic control and albuminuria on bone mineral density were investigated.
Eighty-six T1D children/adolescents (T1D group) and ninety normoglycaemic controls (normoglycaemic group) were included. T1D patients were analysed as a whole and also in subsets of patients with good glycaemic control (glycated hemoglobin concentration ≤7.5%) and with poor glycaemic control (glycated hemoglobin concentration >7.5%). Bone mineral density was assessed by dual energy x-ray absorptiometry. Glycaemic control, renal function and bone markers were also assessed. IGF1, IGF1R and TGFB1 expressions were determined in peripheral blood mononuclear cells by real-time polymerase chain reaction.
Patients with T1D showed low bone mineral density and poor glycaemic control. Serum total calcium and urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio were higher in patients with poor glycaemic control compared to those with good glycemic control (p = 0.003 and p = 0.035, respectively). There was a reduction of IGF1, IGF1R and TGFB1 expressions in the T1D patients and in the subset with poor glycaemic control compared to normoglycaemic controls (p < 0.05).
The decreased IGF1, IGF1R and TGFB1 expressions in the T1D patients, who presented with T1D at an early age, had been diagnosed with T1D for a longer time, had poor glycaemic control and albuminuria may contribute to low bone mineral density. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

OBJECTIVE: IL-6 plays critical roles in bone resorption and the pathogenesis of periodontitis in both inflammation and alveolar bone loss. A negative correlation was observed between periodontitis and truncal bone mineral density (BMD) in postmenopausal women. The C allele carriers of a genetic polymorphism IL-6-572G/C have higher levels of serum IL-6 compared to G allele carriers. We investigated the possible effect of IL-6-572G/C polymorphism on the relationship between low BMD and periodontitis in postmenopausal women.
METHODS: A total of 300 postmenopausal Japanese women who lived in Yokogoshi area of Niigata City, Japan, participated in this study. Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood. The IL-6-572G/C genotypes were determined by the restriction fragment length polymorphism method. Bone mineral density (BMD) of right femoral neck and serum bone metabolism markers were measured. Low BMD was defined to have the BMD<80% of the mean for young adults. Periodontal parameters at two sites per tooth were measured.
RESULTS: Serum osteocalcin levels were significantly lower in the IL-6-572G/G genotype (p=0.025). In the -572G allele non-carriers, percentages of PPD≥4mm sites were significantly higher in low BMD group compared with the healthy control group (p=0.021). Logistic regression analysis revealed low BMD to be associated with periodontitis (Odds ratio=1.736, p=0.027) after adjusted with IL-6-572G carriage, age, serum albumin level.
CONCLUSIONS: IL-6-572G/C polymorphism was not an independent risk factor of low BMD or periodontitis, but may affect the relationship between the two diseases in postmenopausal Japanese women.