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Evaluation of the relationship between homocysteine levels and bone mineral density in postmenopausal women

Garcia-Alfaro P, Rodriguez I, Pascual MA

Climacteric : the journal of the International Menopause Society, 2022

760 participants

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The current study aimed to evaluate the relationship between homocysteine (Hcy) levels and bone mineral density (BMD) in postmenopausal women.

METHODS: The present, cross-sectional study included 760 postmenopausal women. The following variables were recorded: age, age at menopause, body mass index (BMI), BMD (measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry [DXA] scanning and expressed as lumbar, femoral neck and total hip T-scores), smoking status, biochemical parameters (Hcy, creatinine, calcium, phosphorus, vitamin D and parathormone levels) and vitamin D supplementation.

RESULTS: The mean age of the sample population was 56.4 ± 5.77 years and the mean age at menopause was 49.9 ± 3.62 years. The mean BMI was 25.2 ± 4.49 kg/m2. In the current study, a comparison of the subjects with osteoporosis, osteopenia and normal BMD revealed that the subjects in the low BMD group were significantly older (p < 0.001), had a lower age at menopause (p < 0.001) and had lower BMI (p < 0.001). There was no statistically significant difference among the groups with regard to the plasma levels of Hcy (p = 0.946). The levels of Hcy were positively correlated to the creatinine levels (r = 0.21). The present study did not observe any significant correlations between the Hcy levels and other parameters.

CONCLUSIONS: In the present study, 15.3% of the subjects had hyperhomocysteinemia and 62.11% had low BMD. The current results obtained from a group of postmenopausal women suggest 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: 760 participants or records.

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