Nyon, Switzerland - December 7, 2015 Diabetes is a widespread chronic disease which is a public health issue of increasing importance in the Middle East. Health professionals who treat diabetic patients often do not recognize that fragility fractures are a major complication of the disease.
In response to the dramatic increase in both fragility fractures and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) within the region, the IOF Regionals 3rd Middle East & Africa Osteoporosis Meeting, closing today in Abu Dhabi, placed a strong focus on the complex relationship between these two serious health issues.
At a pre-meeting Workshop 'Diabetes & Osteoporosis: The New Frontier' held on December 5th, experts presented the most current information on the epidemiology, pathophysiology, and management of diabetic bone disease. Additionally, a total of ten oral and poster presentations looked at the relationship between diabetes and bone, including new studies from Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Egypt and Morocco.
The following two studies were presented as oral lectures during the Workshop:
Researchers at King Abdulaziz University in Saudi Arabia used data from the CEOR study to look for risk factors for fragility fractures in people with diabetes mellitus. Patients with T2DM are at increased risk of fragility fracture even though they may have normal or increased bone mineral density (BMD). Therefore it is important for health professionals to understand which other risk factors play a role in the heightened fracture risk among T2DM patients. A total of 820 older adults (aged 50-74 years) with diabetes mellitus were examined. It was found that, besides age and female gender, risk factors that increased fragility fracture risk were hypertension, macrovascular diseases, a family history of osteoporosis, and decreased BMD.(OC1)
An Iranian study from the Tehran University of Medical Sciences looked at BMD in patients with and without T2DM who had suffered a wrist fracture. Of 3921 postmenopausal women, wrist fracture was reported in 16.6% of diabetic and 13.6% of non-diabetic patients. In individuals with no history of bone fracture, no significant differences were found in age, BMI, total hip BMD, and lumbar spine BMD between patients with and without diabetes. In individuals with wrist fracture, diabetic patients had significantly lower total hip Z-score, lumbar spine T-score and Z-score compared to non-diabetic patients. Interestingly, the BMD of lumbar spine in diabetic patients who had a wrist fracture was higher than in non-diabetic patients. However, in individuals with wrist fracture, there was no significant difference in age, BMI, and total hip BMD between patients with and without diabetes. The findings show that wrist fracture may occur in diabetic patients despite higher BMD, possibly due to bone microstructure changes in diabetes.(OC3)
All research abstracts presented at the 3rd Middle East and Africa Osteoporosis Meeting will appear in the journal Osteoporosis International Vol. 26, Suppl. 2. 2015.
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IOF Regionals 3rd Middle East & Africa Osteoporosis Meeting:
Organized by the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) in Abu Dhabi from December 5-7, 2015, the IOF Regionals is one of the largest medical and research events dedicated to osteoporosis and related diseases in the region. http://www.iofbonehealth.org/abudhabi-2015
About IOF:
The International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) is a not-for-profit, nongovernmental organization dedicated to the worldwide fight against osteoporosis and related musculoskeletal diseases. IOF's members - scientific researchers, patient, medical and research societies and industry representatives from around the world - share a common vision of a world without osteoporotic fractures. IOF, with headquarters in Switzerland, currently includes 232 member societies in 98 countries, regions and territories. Among its numerous programmes and activities, IOF mobilizes the global osteoporosis movement on World Osteoporosis Day, marked on October 20 every year.
http://www.iofbonehealth.org; http://www.facebook.com/iofbonehealth; http://twitter.com/iofbonehealth
Journal
Osteoporosis International