Cognitive decline linked with faster rate of bone loss
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There is a link between cognitive decline and a faster rate of bone loss, and women who experienced cognitive decline over 5 years were at increased risk for fractures, researchers reported in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research.
The 16-year study, which found a weaker association between cognitive decline and bone loss among men, involved individuals aged 65 years and older. The researchers believe the findings have revealed a new approach to help identify people at risk for fracture.
“Bone loss and cognitive decline are major public health issues, but both are silent diseases that can go undetected and untreated for long periods, often until the conditions are severely progressed,” author Jacqueline Center, MS, PhD, head of the Clinical Studies and Epidemiology Lab at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Darlinghurst, Australia, said in a press release.
“Our study has revealed a link between the two in women, which suggests that cognition should be monitored together with bone health, as a decline in one could mean a decline in the other,” said Center, who also is an endocrinologist at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Darlinghurst. “These findings may help refine best practice guidelines of how cognition and bone health are monitored in older age to ensure appropriate treatment can be more effectively administered.”
The researchers noted that, globally, osteoporosis affects 200 million people and dementia affects more than 35 million people, and they expect these numbers to double in the next 20 years because of increased life expectancy.
“Cognitive decline and bone loss both result in increased disability, loss of independence, and an increased risk of mortality,” author Dana Bliuc, MD, MSc, PhD, senior research officer at Garvan’s Clinical Studies and Epidemiology Lab, said in the press release. “There is some evidence that older individuals with dementia have a higher risk of hip fractures, but whether the decline of both bone and cognitive health are linked over time has not been studied.”
Bliuc added that the researchers aimed to understand the long-term association and that their study was the first to navigate cognitive and bone health data in more than 15 years.
The Canadian Multicentre Osteoporosis Study, which has been documenting the skeletal health of people living in nine urban centers in Canada since 1995, provided the data.
The researchers examined cognitive and bone health measurements of 1,741 women and 620 men who started the study with no symptoms of cognitive decline.
“After adjusting for all other variables, we observed a significant link between a decline in cognitive health and bone loss in women. This association was weaker and not statistically significant in men,” Bliuc said.
Cognitive decline over the first 5 years was associated with a 1.7-fold increase in future fracture risk among women in the following 10 years, independent of bone loss levels, Bliuc added.
“While this study could not identify a causal link, whether a decline in cognitive function leads to a decline in bone loss or vice versa, it suggests that cognitive decline should be monitored along with bone health, as a decline in one may signal the need for increased vigilance in the other,” said Center.
A third factor such as estrogen deficiency, which has been independently associated with both bone loss and cognitive decline and affects women after menopause, could potentially mediate the link, the research said.
Also, the researchers said, their findings could lead to additional studies into what the link between cognitive decline and bone loss may be.
“What our study highlights is that cognitive health is potentially an important factor for providing more information to individuals and their health professionals on fracture risk and ultimately improve health outcomes for our older population,” said Center.