Aims: This study is an investigation of the impact of Type 1 diabetes on bone mineral density (BMD) with regard to bone composition.
Material and methods: Thirty male and 30 premenopausal female patients with Type 1 diabetes (IDD) were retrospectively compared with an equal number of healthy individuals, matched on a person-to-person basis and to the reference population mean. BMD was measured at the L2-L4 vertebrae and femoral neck (FN) by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA).
Results: BMD absolute values were significantly lower in the diabetic than in the healthy males at vertebrae and FN (P<.05). The vertebral BMD values of diabetic women did not significantly differ, whereas those of FN were significantly lower compared with those of the healthy participants. FN age-adjusted BMD values (Z scores) were significantly lower than those of the healthy persons and the population reference mean in both genders (P=.01, <.001 for males and <.01 for females), whereas regarding the vertebrae, only in the diabetic males (P<.05 and <.01 respectively). The percentages of osteopenia and osteoporosis were significantly higher in the male compared to the female diabetic patients (P<.001). No significant correlations existed between the BMD values and diabetes duration, glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) concentration, or age of diabetes onset. Similar results were obtained when applying stepwise multiple regression analysis to explain the BMD value variance.
Conclusions: Young males with Type 1 diabetes exhibit significantly lower BMD values of trabecular and mixed cortical-trabecular bone, compared with matched healthy persons. Premenopausal females with Type 1 diabetes present significantly lower BMD values of mixed bone only. Blood glucose control and diabetes duration do not appear to influence BMD behavior.