Assessment of bone metabolism and fracture risk in obese men

Abstract

Introduction Obesity and metabolic syndrome are increasingly common in the adult population. There is a well- -known relationship between those two conditions and cardiovascular diseases; nonetheless, not much is known about how obesity and metabolic syndrome affect bone metabolism and fracture risk. The study aimed to assess the parameters of bone metabolism, as well as assess their relationship with the risk of fractures in obese men with central obesity and metabolic syndrome, and to compare the obtained results with those of healthy controls. Material and methods The study involved 36 obese men (body mass index – BMI ≥ 30) with central obesity (waist circumference – WC ≥ 94) and 10 healthy men as controls, aged 54–77. The FRAX (Fracture Risk Assessment Tool) calculator was used to measure the 10-year fracture risk. The levels of bone metabolism markers osteoprotegerin (OPG), C-terminal telopeptide (CTX1), and fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF-23) were determined in the patients. Results The FRAX parameter was significantly lower (p < 0.001) in the obese men when compared to the controls. A significant negative correlation between FRAX and BMI (p < 0.001) was observed in the obese men, but not in the healthy subjects. There was also a negative correlation between FRAX and WC (p < 0.001), again only among the obese subjects. A positive correlation (p < 0.01) between FGF-23 and FRAX was found in the non-obese group. Conclusions Obese men have a lower 10-years fracture risk compared to the healthy controls. Additionally, the increased BMI and waist circumference in the obese men were found to be associated with a reduced bone fracture risk, whereas no similar relationship in controls was observed. Moreover, higher FGF-23 levels in the healthy males was correlated with an increased 10-year fracture risk.

Keywords

• metabolic syndrome
• obesity
• opg
• osteoporosis
• frax
• bone fractures
• fgf-23
• male