Mumbai: Type 2 diabetes has long been associated with an increased risk of health conditions like stroke, cardiovascular disease, nerve damage, kidney failure, vision deterioration, and premature mortality. But new research suggests that people with type 2 diabetes are 35 per cent more likely to suffer vertebral fractures compared to others.
The study highlights the fact that when diabetics get vertebral fractures, they should get treated for osteoporosis to prevent future broken bones. Moreover, the researchers also note that diabetics are also at a higher risk of fractures of the hip in particular.
“The current study included data from 15 prior studies with a total of 852,702 men and women. Overall, people with type 2 diabetes were 35 per cent more likely than those without the disease to have vertebral fractures,” said a doctor.
Type 2 diabetes is an insidious disease affecting millions of individuals with millions more developing the disease on a yearly basis. Diabetes mellitus often leads to serious complications that affect the heart, blood vessels, eyes, kidneys, and nerves.
It has also been increasingly recognised that diabetes adversely affects bone health. Both type 1 and type 2 diabetes milletus are associated with decreased bone strength as well as increased fracture risk
“The association of diabetes with fracture risk has differed depending on the location of fracture, sex, age, duration of diabetes. Vertebral fractures are associated with significant increases in pain, physical impairment and inability to perform activities of daily life, as well as psycho social effects such as anxiety, depression, and loss of self-esteem over the long term,” said Dr Pradeep Gadge, leading diabetologist at Gadge Diabetes Center.
Many factors influence the probability of fractures. Diabetes can affect bone through multiple pathways including obesity, changes in insulin levels, higher concentrations of advanced glycation end products in collagen, increased urinary excretion coupled with lower intestinal absorption of calcium, inappropriate homeostatic response of parathyroid hormone secretion, complex alterations of vitamin D regulation, reduced renal function, lower insulin-like growth factor-I, microangiopathy, and inflammation.
Apart from this all individuals with type 2 diabetes are prone to thyroid disorder. Thyroid function influences fracture risk. Thyroid hormones have been shown to have effects on osteoclasts and osteoblasts, with thyroid status in the upper normal range or excess thyroid hormones leading to accelerated bone turnover with bone loss and increased fracture risk.
Strategies to prevent and treat osteoporosis in people with diabetes are the same as for those without diabetes. A diet rich in calcium and vitamin D is important for healthy bones.
Also, supplements can help you meet the daily requirements of calcium and other important nutrients. Smoking is bad for bones as well as for the heart and lungs.
Women who smoke tend to go through menopause earlier, triggering earlier bone loss. In addition, people who smoke may absorb less calcium from their diets.
Tests known as bone mineral density (BMD) tests measure bone density in various parts of the body. These tests can detect osteoporosis before a bone fracture occurs and predict a person’s chances of fracturing in the future.
It can measure bone density at your hip and spine. People with diabetes should talk to their doctors about whether they might be candidates for a bone density test.
Type 2 diabetes has long been linked to an increased risk of complications like heart attacks and strokes, nerve damage, kidney failure, vision deterioration and premature death. People with diabetes also have an increased risk of fractures of the hip and other broken bones, the researchers note.
People with diabetes in the study who didn’t have vertebral fractures still had a 94 per cent higher risk of broken bones compared to those without diabetes.
And people with vertebral fractures without diabetes had a 73 per cent higher risk of broken bones.
