Bone mineral density in men with and without the metabolic syndrome

The objective of this study was to measure bone mineral density (BMD) in middle-aged men with and without the metabolic syndrome according to the International diabetes federation (IDF) definition from 2005. We studied 80 men (mean age: 51.9 +/- 9.0 y, mean body mass index (BMI): 32.0 +/- 1.7 kg/m(2)) with and 92 men without the metabolic syndrome (mean age: 52.6 +/- 15.1 y, mean BMI: 24.9 +/- 2.8 kg/m(2)). Height (cm), weight (kg), waist circumference (cm) and blood pressure were measured. Fasting plasma glucose ( FPG) and blood lipids were determined. BMD at the lumbar spine and total hip was measured by dual X-ray absorptiometry on a Hologic QDR 4500 bone densitometer. In men around 59.3% had a waist circumference > 94 cm (abdominal obesity). Among them 58.7% showed abnormal BP values. Around 30.7% had FPG >= 5.6 mmol/L and 22.7% had low high density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol and 36.6% had hypertriglyceridemia. In men with the metabolic syndrome, mean lumbar spine BMD was 0.986 +/- 0.210 g/cm(2) and total hip BMD 1.012 +/- 0.209 g/cm(2). The corresponding values in men without this syndrome were 0.934 +/- 0.179 g/cm(2) and 0.894 +/- 0.189 g/cm(2), respectively. The inter-group BMD difference reached statistical significance only at the hip (p = 0.039). Respectively, the prevalence of osteoporosis at the central sites was significantly higher in men without the metabolic syndrome (MS) (13.2 versus 20.8%, p = 0.03). Our data confirmed the trend for higher BMD in the studied men with the metabolic syndrome.