The Relationship between Serum Osteocalcin Concentration and Glucose Metabolism in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

To study the correlations between serum osteocalcin and glucose metabolism in patients with type 2 diabetes, 66 cases were collected to determine total osteocalcin, undercarboxylated osteocalcin, fasting blood glucose, fasting insulin, and HbA1c. Osteocalcin concentrations were compared between groups of different levels of HbA1c, and parameters of glucose metabolism were compared between groups of different levels of total osteocalcin and undercarboxylated osteocalcin. The relationship between osteocalcin and parameters of glucose metabolism was also analyzed. We found that the total osteocalcin concentration of high-HbA1c group was significantly lower than that of low-HbA1c group. The fasting blood glucose of low-total-osteocalcin group was significantly higher than that of high-total-osteocalcin group in male participants, while the fasting blood glucose of low-undercarboxylated-osteocalcin group was significantly higher than that of high-undercarboxylated-osteocalcin group in all participants and in male participants. Total osteocalcin was inversely correlated with HbA1c, and undercarboxylated osteocalcin was inversely correlated with fasting blood glucose. However, no significant correlation was found between osteocalcin and HOMA-IR. Total osteocalcin was an independent related factor of HbA1c level. In summary, decreased serum total osteocalcin and undercarboxylated osteocalcin are closely related to the exacerbation of glucose metabolism disorder but have no relations with insulin resistance.