Abstract

Background: Osteoporosis and diabetes mellitus are major and growing public health problems, particularly among postmenopausal women. This study was conducted to evaluate the relationship between osteoporosis and type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) in postmenopausal women. Methods: In this cross sectional study, we compared 200 postmenopausal women with type 2 diabetes mellitus and 400 without it, over the age of 60 years. Age, body mass index (BMI), and the T-score of the lumbar vertebra, neck of femur measured via Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DEXA) were recorded and compared between the two groups. Hemoglobin A1C (HbA1C) was also measured in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and its correlation with osteoporosis was studied. Chi-square, Fisher’s exact and independent t tests were used for analyzing the data. In this study, P-value less than 0.05 was considered as significant. Findings: The mean ages were 65.23 ± 4.80 vs. 66.91 ± 5.78 years and BMI were 28.94 ± 4.06 vs. 31.65 ± 4.42 kg/m2 in non-diabetic and diabetic groups, respectively. Lumber T-scores was -2.10 ± 1.08 vs. -2.16 ± 1.27 (P = 0.60), femoral neck T-score was -0.72 ± 1.00 vs. -1.09 ± 0.96 (P < 0.01), in non-diabetic and diabetic groups, respectively. The prevalence of osteopenia and osteoporosis was statistically higher among diabetic group compared to non-diabetics. In diabetic group, osteoporosis was more common in those with HbA1C ≥ 7 compared to those with HbA1C < 7 (P = 0.006). Conclusion: The results of this study showed that bone loss is more common in postmenopausal women ith type 2 diabetes mellitus compared to the postmenopausal women without it. We can control this risk factor, as an important intervention, in the prevention of osteoporosis. © 2014, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences(IUMS). All rights reserved.