Trabecular bone score in type 1 diabetes: a meta-analysis of cross-sectional studies

BACKGROUND: Bone fragility is a recognized complication of type 1 diabetes (T1D). Thus, lower trabecular bone score (TBS) measurements in T1D patients can be predicted. However, the results of current studies on TBS in patients with T1D are inconsistent. In this context, the present study aimed to test the hypothesis that T1D is associated with lower TBS through a meta-analysis. METHODS: An electronic search of the literature was conducted using PubMed, Embase and Web of science databases to identify studies related to TBS and T1D, supplemented by an additional manual check of the reference list of relevant original and review articles. All data was analyzed using a random effects model. Results were compared using standardized mean differences (SMD) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). P ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Review Manager 5.4 software and Stata 17.0 software were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: Seven cross-sectional studies involving 848 participants were included. TBS was lower in T1D patients than in healthy controls on random effects analysis, with no heterogeneity (SMD = − 0.39, 95% CI [− 0.53, − 0.24], P < 0.001; I(2) = 0%). In addition, by subgroup analysis, T1D patients were strongly associated with reduced TBS in different regions and age groups, and the results were independent of covariate adjustment. CONCLUSION: This study showed that TBS was lower in patients with T1D than in healthy individuals with normal blood glucose levels, suggesting that TBS may be a useful measure to assess fracture risk in T1D. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13018-023-04289-0.