Hip Structural Analysis Reveals Impaired Hip Geometry in Girls With Type 1 Diabetes

Among patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D), the risk of hip fracture is up to 6-fold greater than that of the general population. However, the cause of this skeletal fragility remains poorly understood.

To assess differences in hip geometry and imaging-based estimates of bone strength between youth with and without T1D using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA)-based hip structural analysis.

Cross-sectional comparison.

Girls ages 10 to 16 years, including n = 62 with T1D and n = 61 controls.

The groups had similar age, bone age, pubertal stage, height, lean mass, and physical activity. Bone mineral density at the femoral neck and total hip did not differ in univariate comparisons but was lower at the femoral neck in T1D after adjusting for bone age, height, and lean mass. Subjects with T1D had significantly lower cross-sectional area, cross-sectional moment of inertia, section modulus, and cortical thickness at the narrow neck, with deficits of 5.7% to 10.3%. Cross-sectional area was also lower at the intertrochanteric region in girls with T1D. Among those T1D subjects with HbA1c greater than the cohort median of 8.5%, deficits in hip geometry and strength estimates were more pronounced.

DXA-based hip structural analysis revealed that girls with T1D have unfavorable geometry and lower estimates of bone strength at the hip, which may contribute to skeletal fragility and excess hip fracture risk in adulthood. Higher average glycemia may exacerbate effects of T1D on hip geometry.