Clinical Application of Bone Turnover Markers in Osteoporosis in Korea

Bone turnover markers (BTMs) have important role in the management of osteoporosis. Recently the clinical application of BTMs has achieved significant progress and measurement of BTMs give us better understanding of pathogenesis of osteoporosis. However, the use of BTMs is still insufficient in Korea. We summarized the available methods and standard interval of the BTMs in Korea. Also we reviewed published literatures on pre-analytical variability in the measurement of BTMs and provided recommendations for standardized sample handling and patient preparation for reducing those pre-analytical variabilities. The clinical application of BTMs in patients with chronic kidney disease who have a higher fracture risk than the general population is summarized.