A hospital based study of biochemical markers of bone turnovers & bone mineral density in north Indian women

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: The osteoporotic risk for women increases soon after menopause. Bone turnover markers are known to be associated with bone loss and fracture risk. This study was aimed to assess bone turnover using bone markers and their correlation with bone mineral density (BMD) in pre- and post-menopausal women. METHODS: A total of 255 healthy women (160 pre- and 95 post-menopausal) were enrolled. Serum bone alkaline phosphatase (sBAP) and serum N-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen (NTX) were measured to evaluate the bone formation and resorption, respectively. Bone mineral density was determined at lumbar spine (L2-L4) anteroposteriorly, femoral neck and Ward's triangle using Prodigy dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) system. The comparison of years since menopause with respect to BMD and bone markers was also evaluated. RESULTS: NTX and sBAP showed significant negative correlation with BMD of femur neck and Ward's triangle in postmenopausal women. BMD of all three sides were significant variables for NTX and BMD of femur neck and Ward's triangle for sBAP in postmenopausal women. BMD lumbar spine was a significant variable for sBAP in premenopausal women. The mean values of NTX increased significantly with increase in the duration of years since menopause. The BMD of all three sides decreased significantly with increase in the duration of years since menopause. INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSIONS: Serum NTX and sBAP were inversely correlated to BMD of femur neck and Ward's triangle in post-menopausal women. Simultaneous measurements of NTX and BMD in the north Indian women, suggest that bone resorption in women with low BMD remains high after menopause.