Relationship between osteoporosis and non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus in elderly

Objective To investigate the changes of bone mineral density (BMD) in aged patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus(TIDM) and to study the morbidity and related factors of osteoporosis in elderly with T2DM. Methods BMDs of lumbar vertebrae and left hip were measured by DEXA in the patients (n=70, aged 61-82) and in healthy controls (n=61, aged 65-78). The correlation of BMD with age, course, menopause duration, blood glucose and serum lipids was analyzed by multivariate regression analysis. Results The incidence of osteoporosis was 45.7% in the T2DM group and 37.7% in control group. The BMDs of patients with T2DM were lower than those of control group and the difference was significant(P0.05).Multivariate regression analysis showed that BMD of diabetic patients negatively correlated with age, course, HbA_1C, menopause duration, CHOL and positively correlated with BMI. Conclusion The prevalence of osteoporosis in patients with T2DM is higher than that of control group. In order to prevent osteoporosis and improve the life quality, it is helpful for old patients with T2DM to strictly control blood glucose level and take BMD examination regularly.