Metabolic Syndrome and Central Fat Distribution Are Related to Lower Serum Osteocalcin Concentrations

Abstract

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the association of serum osteocalcin with the metabolic syndrome (MS) in men and premenopausal women. Methods: 14 middle-aged men and 44 premenopausal women were evaluated. MS was defined according to the International Diabetes Federation criteria. Anthropometric data were collected and serum osteocalcin, serum C-telopeptide (CTX), fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and lipid profile measured. Results: The mean age was 41.07 ± 8.4 years and did not differ between patients with and without MS. Mean osteocalcin was significantly lower in patients with MS (11.18 ± 4.62 vs. 15.09 ± 5.05, p = 0.003) and decreased significantly with the rise in the number of criteria for diagnosis of MS. There were no significant differences in serum CTX between the two groups. Serum osteocalcin was lower in patients with body mass index (BMI) ≥25 (p = 0.038) and FPG ≥100 mg/dl (p = 0.024), and in hypertensive (p = 0.013) and diabetic patients (p = 0.036), and was inversely associated with BMI (p = 0.024), waist circumference (WC) (p = 0.024), FPG (p = 0.007) and systolic blood pressure (SBP) (p = 0.037). Conclusion: This study showed that lower serum osteocalcin is associated with the presence of MS and that osteocalcin is inversely associated with BMI, WC, FPG and SBP, suggesting that osteocalcin plays a part in the development of MS.

Relationships Among the Metabolic Syndrome, Bone Mineral Density, Bone Turnover Markers, and Hyperglycemia

“…19,20 In addition, a few studies suggesting an association between bone turnover markers and metabolic syndrome are available in the literature. 21,22 In particular, some authors have shown that male patients with metabolic syndrome had lower osteocalcin. 21 The majority of the studies demonstrated that most metabolic syndrome patients had reduced osteocalcin values, irrespective of sex.…”

“…21 The majority of the studies demonstrated that most metabolic syndrome patients had reduced osteocalcin values, irrespective of sex. 20,22 One study showed that osteocalcin played a major role in the lipid and glucose metabolism, and patients suffering from obesity and impaired glucose tolerance had lower osteocalcin. 23 In another study, the authors found that osteocalcin was associated with BMI, WC, FBG, and systolic blood pressure and played a key role in the pathogenesis of metabolic syndrome.…”

The effects of improved metabolic risk factors on bone turnover markers after 12 weeks of simvastatin treatment with or without exercise

“…The association between bone resorption markers with the number of metabolic syndrome defining characteristics has not been well characterized and the results of previous studies are not consistent [29,34,35]. One study reported lower CTX in metabolic syndrome patients relative to healthy controls [35], while other studies did not observe such results, and no difference in CTX was found between metabolic syndrome patients with healthy controls [29,34]. In the present study, the bone resorption marker CTX was highest in participants with 3 metabolic syndrome defining characteristics.…”

“…Therefore, the mechanism underlying the association between fasting glucose and OC reported in the present study and other observational studies [31,33], requires further investigation. The association between bone resorption markers with the number of metabolic syndrome defining characteristics has not been well characterized and the results of previous studies are not consistent [29,34,35]. One study reported lower CTX in metabolic syndrome patients relative to healthy controls [35], while other studies did not observe such results, and no difference in CTX was found between metabolic syndrome patients with healthy controls [29,34].…”

“…Other studies have also reported an association between the metabolic syndrome characteristics and circulating OC. Individuals with the metabolic syndrome or with more metabolic syndrome defining characteristics have reduced OC [29], and Table 2 Total cholesterol (TC), high density lipoprotein (HDL), low density lipoprotein (LDL), triglycerides (TAG), glucose, and insulin levels at baseline (pre) and after 12-week intervention (post) in overweight/obese adults. individuals with lower OC are more likely to also have the metabolic syndrome than those with higher OC [30].…”