Changes in Bone Mineral Density in Young Adults with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus

Abstract Background and aims: Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) represents a secondary cause of osteoporosis. Our aim was to determine bone mineral density (BMD) changes in a group of young Romanian adults with T1DM and to analyze the factors related to this disease that could have had an impact on bone mass. Material and Methods: Fifty-two young patients with T1DM were compared to 37 healthy volunteers matched for body mass index (BMI). All subjects had their BMD measured at the hip and lumbar spine. Results: We found no statistically significant differences in BMD between T1DM patients and controls (p=0.618 for lumbar spine, p=0.974 for femoral neck and p=0.883 for total hip). Multiple linear regression models detected BMI (p =0.043), smoking (p=0.001) and milk intake (p=0.004 for lumbar spine) as significant BMD determinants. In contrast, no associations were found between BMD and metabolic control, daily insulin dose or presence of diabetic retinopathy and/or neuropathy. Long diabetes duration was negatively associated with BMD in femoral neck (p=0.012). Conclusions: Although we couldn’t find differences between BMD in T1DM patients and controls, the link between diabetes duration and BMD that we found suggests that even young patients with long standing T1DM should have their BMD measured