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Cross-sectional analysis of renal transplantation osteoporosis

Parker CR, Freemont AJ, Blackwell PJ, Grainge MJ, Hosking DJ

Journal of bone and mineral research : the official journal of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research, 1999

38 participants

Abstract

We report a cross-sectional study of 54 adult female renal transplant recipients. We measured bone mineral density (BMD) of the lumbar spine, femoral neck, total hip, and mid- and total radius, and 38 patients underwent transiliac crest bone biopsy. Osteopenia was widespread with 31/54 (57%) of patients osteoporotic at one or more sites. Seventeen out of 54 (32%) of the patients had a prevalent low-trauma fracture. There was a clear trend in BMD reduction across spine, hip and midradius, with the predominantly cortical midradial site showing the greatest loss. We found no relationship between BMD and body mass index, parathyroid hormone (PTH), dose of immunosuppressant, years since transplantation, age at menopause, or years since menopause. Histologically, abnormal biopsies could be classified into three categories: hyperparathyroid (n = 20), adynamic (n = 14), and osteomalacic (n = 2). Mean PTH was lower (p = NS) and mean cumulative prednisolone dose was higher (p = 0.04) in the adynamic group compared with the hyperparathyroid group, but because of overlap between groups neither was an effective discriminator of histology. We suggest that bone biopsy is indicated in these patients to direct appropriate treatment. At the cellular level, there were significant negative correlations between osteoclast function (eroded surface, r = 0.47, p = 0.003) and osteoblast numbers (osteoblast surface, r = -0.40, p = 0.01) and cumulative exposure to prednisolone. We postulate that…

How strong is the evidence?

Evidence Hub reads this as a cross-sectional, done in people. Its evidence level is 4 of 5 (Low · observational). Observational designs can show an association but not prove cause. Reported size: 38 participants or records.

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