New Clues that May Link Osteoporosis to the Circulating Lipid Profile

Bone Mineral Density (BMD) is a gold standard for the diagnosis of osteoporosis and is also important in the assessment of fracture risk. Other risk factors have been identified that together make up fracture risk assessment tools such as FRAX. Another potential factor, circulating lipids, has been suggested because of reports linking statins to fracture risk reduction. We analyzed the lipid profile in a cohort of women diagnosed with postmenopausal osteoporosis based on bone density determination: 610 women with osteoporosis (mean lumbar spine T-score -3.16±0.81, mean yrs. since menopause 15.79±8.9) were grouped according to age at evaluation (< 50 years, 51-60 years, 61-70 years, > 70 years), the presence/absence of a history of a fragility fracture, statin and/or antiresorptive drug use. There was no correlation between BMD and Body Mass Index (BMI: P>0.05, r (2)<0.02). However, when BMD was correlated with both BMI and the lipid profile (Triglycerides, Cholesterol, LDLc, HDLc), significant correlations were found in 5 cohorts: 51-60 years with fractures (n=61, r (2)=0.14, P<0.01), 61-70 years (n=201, r (2)=0.09, P<0.01) with fractures (n=88, r (2)=0.14, P<0.01) or without fractures (n=113, r (2)=0.24, P=0.02) and over 70 years (n=247, r (2)=0.11, P<0.01).