Abstract

It has been postulated that altered bone quality brought on by the underlying metabolic abnormalities of type 2 diabetes (T2D) causes altered bone strength and turnover, increasing the risk of fracture in T2D patients. Studies concentrating on White men and women have largely formed the basis for current knowledge about changes in bone turnover indicators in T2D patients. Nevertheless, T2D and osteoporosis are more common in Hispanic people in the US. We looked at the relationships between bone turnover rate and glycemic control in 69 older (>50 years) Mexican American Cameron County Hispanic Cohort (CCHC) participants with T2D. The relationships between HbA1c (%), serum osteocalcin (OC), and serum sclerostin were evaluated using multivariable models. Our study discovered that Mexican American men with T2D who had worse glycemic control experienced decreased bone turnover (indicated by lower serum OC), which is consistent with published data from other racial/ethnic communities. Glycemic control and OC did not significantly correlate for the women in our study. In contrast, HbA1c was found to be positively linked with sclerostin in women; however the association was not statistically significant. We advise checking for bone loss and fracture risk in Mexican Americans with T2D, especially in those with poor glycemic control.