(HealthDay)—The bone health of adults older than 40 years of age is declining for individuals both with normal glucose regulation and prediabetes, according to a study recently published in Diabetes Care.

Chi Chen, M.D., from the Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, and colleagues used data from the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (from 2005 to 2014) to compare trends in bone mineral density (BMD) between U.S. adults with prediabetes and with normal glucose regulation. The analysis included femoral neck and lumbar spine BMD data for 5,310 adults with prediabetes and 5,162 adults with normal glucose regulation (>40 years old).

The researchers observed a shift toward a lower BMD and a higher prevalence of osteopenia/osteoporosis at the femoral neck and lumbar spine in U.S. adults with prediabetes since 2005, especially among men <60 and women ≥60 years old. There was also a trend toward more osteopenia/osteoporosis at the femoral neck among adults with normal glucoseregulation. Prediabetes was associated with a higher prevalence of hip fracture, even though participants with prediabetes had higher BMD and a lower prevalence of osteopenia/osteoporosis at the femoral neck.

“More research is needed to fully investigate the progression of bone changes from normoglycemia to prediabetes and consider possible therapeutic interventions to mitigate skeletal fragility in this ever-growing population,” the authors write.

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Journal information: Diabetes Care
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