Two Sides of Obesity: Metabolic Syndrome and Osteoporosis in Elderly Women, Gangwon-do, Korea

Abstract

<Abstract> Objectives: This study aimed to assess whether metabolic syndrome (MS) is related to osteoporosis and investigate the association between the MS components and bone mineral density (BMD). Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study for 4,365 women aged over 50 years who completed health examination from 2008 to 2012 in Korea Association of Health Promotion Gangwon Branch. Height, body weight, waist circumference, blood pressure, fasting plasma glucose, serum lipid profiles, and BMD were measured. Results: Obesity measured as body mass index (BMI) was detrimental to all of the MS components but positively correlated with BMD at three skeletal sites (lumbar spine, femoral neck, and total hip). There were no significant differences in the MS prevalence between women without osteoporosis and those with osteoporosis. In age-adjusted analysis, women with MS had significantly higher BMD at three sites when compared to those without MS. After adjusting for BMI and age, these significances disappeared, such that MS was not associated with higher BMD. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that obesity increases the risk of MS whereas underweight increases that of osteoporosis. The association between MS and higher BMD was explained by the higher BMI in those with MS. MS may not be associated with osteoporosis.

Association between metabolic syndrome and osteoporosis in Taiwanese middle-aged and elderly participants

“…A meta-analysis by Sugimoto et al also suggested that MS is associated with bone loss in Asian men [ 11 ]. Jang et al showed that after adjusting for BMI and age, MS was not associated with higher BMD in Korean women [ 22 ]. Heidary et al revealed similar results in elderly Iranian males [ 23 ].…”