Osteoporosis and Osteoporotic Fractures in Postmenopausal Women with Type 2 Diabetes Compared with Non-Diabetic Controls

Correlation of osteoporosis (OP) with type 2diabetes mellitus (DM) is not as clear as type 1 DM. The purpose of this study was to compare the frequency of OP and osteoporotic fractures in post- menopausal women with and without type 2 DM in Sari, Iran. Eighty post-menopausal women with type 2 DM and 80 non-diabetic controls enrolled in this study. Bone mineral density was determined with dual energy X-ray absoptiometry of L2-L4 in spine and femoral neck. Vertebral fracture was reported by a radiologist on thoraco-lumbar x ray. Hip and wrist fractures were determined by patients self-report and ascertained by radiographs. T test, X2 and Fisher's exact tests were used for data analysis. The mean age of diabetic women with and without osteoporosis was 69±2.7 and 69.3±5 years, respectively (p=0.01). Diabetes duration, HbA1C and BMI were not statistically different between two groups. Diabetic complications and anti-diabetic agents, or age and duration of diabetes were not different in diabetic patients with OP or osteoporotic fracture.The mean of T-score in lumbar spine was -1.65±1.3 in diabetics and -2.11±1.3 in controls (p=0.03). T-score in femoral neck was not significantly different. In diabetic patients, the prevalence of osteoporosis was 27.5% at lumbar spine and 17.5% at femoral neck and in controls were 46.3% and 27.5%, respectively (p=0.04 and 0.1). Fractures were less common in diabetics (18.8% vs. 32.5%, p=0.04). This study showed that osteoporosis and osteoporotic fractures is less common in post-menopausal diabetic women compared to non-diabetic subjects.