Medically reviewed by Dr. Shani Saks, D.O. on Sept. 12, 2023
Higher baseline bone mineral density was associated with a greater risk of developing incident prediabetes in normoglycemic European-Americans and African-Americans with parents with type 2 diabetes mellitus.
There is an established correlation between changes in bone mineral density (BMD) and the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). This study, published in the journal Frontiers in Endocrinology, assessed the association between BMD and incident prediabetes in normoglycemic individuals during 5 years of follow-up.
Baseline Characteristics
A total of 343 participants, including 150 European-Americans and 193 African-Americans, were followed for 5 years. The mean age of the participants was 44.2 ± 10.6 years, and the mean body mass index (BMI) was 30.2 ± 7.23 kg/m2. The mean BMD at baseline, measured by DEXA scan, was 1.176 ± 0.135 g/cm2.
Prediabetes Risk and Bone Mineral Density
During the follow-up period, 10 participants developed T2DM, whereas 101 participants were diagnosed with incident prediabetes. The remaining participants remained normoglycemic. Compared to normoglycemic participants, prediabetic participants were older, more frequently male, and had significantly greater levels of increase in BMI, fasting plasma glucose, HbA1c, and baseline BMI.
Impact of Prediabetes on Bone Health
Prediabetics also had greater trunk fat mass and insulin sensitivity, but baseline adiponectin levels were relatively lower. These individuals demonstrated a significantly slower decrease in BMD over 1 year.
Mechanisms Underlying Association Between Prediabetes and Bone Mineral Density
There were significant correlations between BMD and body weight, BMI, adiponectin levels, trunk fat mass, total body fat mass, adiposity, and glucose tolerance (2hPG). Adiponectin, 2hPG, and BMI were significant predictors of BMD in the study participants.
Source:
Liu, Z., Asuzu, P., Patel, A., Wan, J. Y., & Dagogo-Jack, S. (2023). Association of bone mineral density with prediabetes risk among African-American and European-American adult offspring of parents with type 2 diabetes. Frontiers in Endocrinology, 13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fendo.2022.1065527
