Bone/Mineral Metabolism News

Among older women, the adrenal steroid dehydroepiandrosterone may attenuate declines in bone mineral density and modestly increase fat-free mass over 12 months when compared with placebo, according to findings from a pooled analysis published in Clinical Endocrinology.

A healthy diet that includes adequate consumption of calcium, vitamin D and protein is more effective for bone health maintenance than vitamin and other supplements, according to a position statement released by the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists. 

Older adults admitted to the hospital for acute illness with a low vitamin D level are more likely to have a longer length of hospital stay, higher rates of falling and higher mortality rate vs. inpatients with a higher vitamin D level, according to findings presented at the Society for Endocrinology BES annual meeting .

Higher vitamin D levels are associated with greater cardiorespiratory fitness, according to a study published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.

In mothers with overweight or obesity, gestational weight gain was not associated with bone mineralization in offspring at age 7 years; however, researchers observed a modest association between gestational weight gain and offspring bone parameters in underweight and normal-weight women, according to study findings published in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research.

Young adults who regularly participated in sports activities during childhood and adolescence are more likely to have increased bone density than their less athletic peers, according to findings published in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research.

Here’s a look at the most popular bone research reports in Endocrine Today from this month’s American Society for Bone and Mineral Research Annual Meeting in Montreal. Readers were interested in alternative to fracture as an outcome in clinical trials, bisphosphonate holidays, AGEs in type 2 diabetes and more.

SAN DIEGO —Patients on hemodialysis who have a high risk of vascular calcification show no difference in cardiovascular risk if they receive the non-calcium binder lanthanum carbonate or the calcium carbonate binder, according to data presented at ASN Kidney Week. The results were part of the multicenter LANDMARK study, a randomized, open-label trial comparing the effects of lanthanum carbonate with the effects of calcium carbonate.

CHICAGO — Denosumab was superior to risedronate for increasing spine and hip bone mineral density, with both treatments demonstrating similar safety, among patients receiving glucocorticoids, according to Kenneth Saag MD, MSc, University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Postmenopausal women with recently diagnosed breast cancer had a higher risk for developing vitamin D deficiency vs. similar women without the disease, with obesity influencing vitamin D status, according to findings published in Menopause.