[Osteoporosis and vascular calcification].

Many clinical studies have shown that osteoporosis is associated with atherosclerosis and cardiovascular death. Plasma lipids might be related to bone mass and bone fragility, and might be the common factor underlying both osteoporosis and atherosclerosis. It is interesting that statins, estrogens, and nitrogen-containing bisphosphonates have similar stimulatory effects on bone mass, because all of them are known to reduce LDL-cholesterol (C) and increase HDL-C in the plasma. Thus, these two disorders might be related to each other in terms of pathogenesis and therapeutic agents.