Diabetic Women Experience More Hip Bone Loss at Menopause

By Geoff Michaels, April 17th, 2013 | Health | 0 Comments

Although women with diabetes have higher levels of bone mineral density prior to menopause, they experience a significantly greater rate of bone loss at the hip at menopause compared to women without diabetes, according to a study presented at the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research Annual Meeting. However, bone loss in the spine seems to be slower in people with diabetes than in non-diabetics.

Researchers from Wright State University in Kettering, Ohio assessed bone loss data for 2,245 women between the ages of 42 and 52 years who participated in the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation. They found that, prior to menopause, women with diabetes had an average bone mineral density that was 14% higher in the hip and 9% higher in the lower spine than women without diabetes. After an average follow-up period of 3.3 years, the overall rate of bone loss in the hip for women with diabetes was ten times higher that it was for women without diabetes. However, the opposite was true for bone loss in the spine.

It is not clear why the rate of bone loss and fracture risk is higher among post-menopausal women with diabetes, but it may be that new bone formation and bone quality are impaired in diabetics. The researchers point out that their study highlights how early in menopause bone loss begins. Post-menopausal women with diabetes and their physicians should consider an increased fracture risk and fall prevention when discussing the possible diabetic complications.