Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and Bone Mineral Density

Abstract

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) patients are at risk of developing conditions that can compromise their bone health, such as fractures and walking impairment. We aimed to assess bone mineral density as a function of the age of DMD patients. The cross-sectional study included 48 patients distributed into four groups by age: G1 (5.1-9.2 years), G2 (9.3-10.7 years), G3 (11.2-15.9 years), and G4 (18-24.7 years). Lumbar spine and total body bone mineral density (BMD) measurements were performed with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. There was a moderate negative correlation between age and the lumbar spine BMD z-score (p = 0.001; r = -0.45) and a strong negative correlation between age and the total body BMD z-score (p = 0.001; r = -0.79). The lumbar spine BMD z-scores in G3 and G4 were significantly lower than those in G1 and G2 (p < 0.05). The total body BMD z-score in G3 was lower than those in G1 and G2 (p < 0.05), and in G4 was lower ​​than those in the other groups (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The older patients had lower lumbar spine and total body BMD z-score values than younger patients. Moreover, these values ​​were negatively correlated with the age of the patients.