Association of mental disorders and psychotropic medications with bone texture as measured with trabecular bone score

Mental disorders and psychotropic medications are known to increase the risk of osteoporosis and fractures. However, current evidence is mostly limited to studies that used bone mineral density (BMD), which does not provide information about the texture of bone tissue and can underestimate fracture risk.

We tested the association between bone texture, as measured with lumbar spine trabecular bone score (TBS), and both diagnosed mental disorders and psychotropic medication use in a large population-based BMD registry from Manitoba, Canada. General linear and logistic regression models were used to test the association of TBS with mental disorders (anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, and alcohol use disorder) and psychotropic medications use (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors [SSRI], tricyclic antidepressants [TCA], other antidepressants, lithium, non‑lithium mood stabilizers, antipsychotics, and benzodiazepines), adjusted for comorbidities and confounding factors.

The study population contained 45,716 women (mean age = 64.1, SD = 10.4), which included 21.1 % with diagnoses for mental disorders and 18.7 % using psychotropic medications. We observed significant negative covariate-adjusted effects on TBS from diagnosed alcohol use disorder (3.1 % reduction in TBS, p < 0.001) and exposure to SSRI (0.6 % reduction, p < 0.001), TCA (0.8 % reduction, p < 0.001), other antidepressants (0.8 % reduction, p < 0.001), and lithium (3 % reduction, p < 0.001). Logistic regression revealed that TBS in the lowest (versus highest) tertile was associated with alcohol use disorder (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 2.87, 95 % confidence interval [CI]: 1.95, 4.21), exposure to SSRI (OR = 1.21; 95 % CI: 1.08, 1.35), TCA (OR = 1.18, 95 % confidence interval [CI]: 1.04, 1.35), other antidepressants (OR = 1.26; 95 % CI: 1.09, 1.45), and lithium (OR = 1.97; 95 % CI: 1.09, 3.57).

Our results suggest that alcohol use disorder, antidepressants, and lithium are associated with poorer bone texture in women. These findings add to the current literature on the link of bone pathology with mental disorders and psychotropic medications.