HOMOCYSTEINE AS INDICATOR OF OSTEOPOROSIS. THE INCHIANTI STUDY
Abstract number: P-T-621
Corsi1 A., Lauretani2 F., Bandinelli3 S., Gori1 A., Fedi1 S., Ferrucci4 L., Abbate1 R.
11Department of Medical and Surgical Critical Care, University of Florence 22Tuscany Regional Health Agency 33Geriatric Rehabilitation Unit, ASF, Florence, Italy 44Longitudinal Studies Section - Gerontology Research Center, National Institute on Aging - National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, United States
How-to-cite Corsi A, Lauretani F, Bandinelli S, Gori A, Fedi S, Ferrucci L, Abbate R. HOMOCYSTEINE AS INDICATOR OF OSTEOPOROSIS. THE INCHIANTI STUDY. J Thromb Haemost 2007; 5 Supplement 2: P-T-621
Abstract
Introduction: Recent prospective population-based studies suggested that high levels of homocysteine (Hcy), a known independent marker for athero-thrombotic diseases, were also associated with an increased risk of fractures in older persons. The aim of this study was to determine whether Hcy levels are associated with bone mineral density (BMD) and geometry independently of a large number of risk factors of osteoporosis.
Methods: We used data collected at baseline in the participants of InCHIANTI study, a prospective population-based survey of elderly persons. We selected 821 persons aged >=65 (368 men and 448 women) who underwent a tibial peripheral quantitative computed tomography (pQCT). Cortical (vBMDc) and trabecular (vBMDt) tissues, total bone cross-sectional area (tBCSA) and Cortical Thickness (Ch) were evaluated by the XCT 2000 device (Stratec Medizintechnik) and the BonAlyse software (BonAlyse Oy). Plasma Hcy levels were determined by a Fluorimetric Polaryzed Immuno Assay (FPIA method) (IMX Abbot Laboratories), vitamin B12 and folate were measured by commercial RIA (ICN Pharmaceuticals), and vitamin B6 was determined by HPLC (Immuno-diagnostic).
Results: Women with Hcy levels >=15 mumol/l had lower vBMDc than women with Hcy levels <= 15 mumol/l (1069,24 mg/cm3 vs 1088.68 mg/cm3, p=0.0156). No relationship between Hcy levels and vBMDt, Ch, and tBCSA was observed. In men Hcy levels were not related to any bone density and bone parameters. Partial correlation analysis adjusted for age, a large number of bone determinants (BMI, physical activity, muscle strength, bioavailable testosterone, PTH, Vitamina D, DEHAS, diabetes, dementia), vitamin B6, vitamin B12, and folate showed that women with hyperHcy had a risk of 1.72 [1.02-2.89] (p=0.041) to have low vBMDc with respect to women with Hcy < 15 mumol/l.
Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate that in elderly women high levels of Hcy are associated with an osteomalacic-like cortical bone tissue, suggesting that Hcy may affect the collagen-mediated mineralization.
