Effects of metabolic syndrome on bone health in older adults: the Bushehr Elderly Health (BEH) program

  1. Clinical Research Development Center, Shahid Beheshti Hospital, Qom University of Medical Sciences, Qom, Iran.
  2. Cell therapy and Regenerative Medicine Research Center, Endocrinology and Metabolism Molecular-cellular Sciences Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
  3. Endocrinology and Metabolism Research center, Endocrinology and Metabolism Clinical Sciences Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
  4. Elderly Health Research Center, Endocrinology and Metabolism Population Sciences Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
  5. Osteoporosis Research Center, Endocrinology and Metabolism Clinical Sciences Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
  6. Chronic Diseases Research Center, Endocrinology and Metabolism Population Sciences Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
  7. Diabetes Research Center, Endocrinology and Metabolism Clinical Sciences Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
  8. The Persian Gulf Marine Biotechnology Research Center, The Persian Gulf Biomedical Sciences Research Institute, Bushehr University of Medical Sciences, Bushehr, Iran.
  9. Endocrinology and Metabolism Research center, Endocrinology and Metabolism Clinical Sciences Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. emrc@tums.ac.ir.
Osteoporosis international

Abstract

Based on the clinical, BMD, and TBS data of 2380 participants aged ≥ 60 which was gathered during the BEH program, stage II, we showed that MetS was positively associated with BMD, while a negative or no association was observed between MetS and TBS depending on the sex and the adjustment model.

Introduction: The results of previous reports in regard to the effect of metabolic syndrome (MetS) on bone health are not conclusive. This study aimed to evaluate the association between MetS with bone mineral density (BMD) and trabecular bone score (TBS) as an indicator of bone quantity and quality, respectively.

Methods: Using a cross-sectional design, this study was carried out based on the data collected during the BEH Program, stage II. MetS was defined according to NCEP-ATP III criteria. BMD (at the lumbar spine and the hip) and lumbar spine TBS were assessed by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry device.

Results: The data of 2380 participants (women = 1228, men = 1152) aged ≥ 60 were analyzed. In the fully adjusted regression models (including BMI), significant associations between MetS and mean BMD were observed across all locations in men (P values ≤ 0.001) and in the lumbar spine in women (P value = 0.003). In addition, the prevalence of osteoporosis (based on BMD) was significantly lower in those with MetS than those without MetS in both sexes, even after full adjustments (women, OR = 0.707, P value = 0.013; men, OR = 0.563, P value = 0.001). In contrast, in age-adjusted regression analyses, the prevalence of degraded bone microarchitecture (TBS ≤ 1.2) was significantly increased in those with MetS than those without, irrespective of the participants’ sex (P values < 0.05). The mean TBS was also negatively associated with MetS in women (β = – 0.075, P value = 0.007) but not in men (β = – 0.052, P value = 0.077), in age-adjusted regression models. However, after including BMI in the adjusted models, all significant associations between TBS values and MetS disappeared.

Conclusion: It seems that a positive association exists between MetS and BMD, while MetS is either not associated or negatively correlated with bone quality as measured by TBS.

Keywords: BMD; Bone mineral densitometry; Metabolic syndrome; TBS; Trabecular bone score.

How to Cite

Bagherzadeh M, Sajjadi-Jazi SM, Sharifi F, Ebrahimpur M, Amininezhad F, Ostovar A, Shafiee G, Heshmat R, Mehrdad N, Razi F, Nabipour I, Larijani B. Effects of metabolic syndrome on bone health in older adults: the Bushehr Elderly Health (BEH) program. Osteoporos Int. 2020 Oct;31(10):1975-1984. doi: 10.1007/s00198-020-05455-4. Epub 2020 May 21. PMID: 32440891.