Background & Aims: Osteoporosis is the most common metabolic bone disease that is characterized by reduced bone strength. This study evaluated the effect of homocysteine in reduction of bone density in postmenopausal women over age 50.

Materials & Methods: This case control study was done on women over 50 years by reviewing  patients’  bone densitometry reports and were divided into two groups . The  BMI T score <-2.5 as case group and  1 - ≤ BMI T as control one. Two hundred patients whose bone densitometry was done for them in the past five years were enrolled in the study. The level of homocysteine was evaluated  ​​in both groups and laboratory results and demographic data of patients were collected in checklists and analyzed with software SPSS.

Results: The data analysis indicated that the relationship between age and homocysteine and control groups was not statistically significant (P= 0.65) and also the correlation coefficient was not significant. (P= 0.24) Using linear regression models to assess the relationship between age and homocysteine ​​in the presence of the patient control group results showed that for every one year increase in age 0.51 μmol/dl is added to the amount of homocysteine, which is not statistically significant (P = 0.32) also compared rates of disease control after removing the effect of age in a linear regression model showed that this effect is significant (P = 0.001). The mean and standard deviation of homocysteine ​​in patients were 10.5, 0.43 and in control group were 7.57 and 0.3  micromole/dL respectively, which was statistically significant. (P ˂ 0.001) The mean ± standard deviation of BMD in patients group was -2.95 ± 0.11 and in control groups was 0.085 ± 0.128 gr/cm². The mean ± standard deviation of BMI in patients was 28.04 ± 0.54 and in the control group was   30.41± 0.43, which was statistically significant. (P ˂ 0.001)

Conclusion: This study showed that homocysteine ​​could be considered as a risk factor for osteoporosis in postmenopausal elderly women. 

SOURCE: URMIA MED J 2012: 23(4): 454 ISSN: 1027-3727