Association between systemic calcified atherosclerosis and bone density

Both atherosclerosis and osteoporosis are responsible for significant morbidity and mortality, are independent predictors of cardiovascular disease (CVD) events, and may share common regulatory mechanisms as well as histopathology. Multiple reports of weak or null relationships between traditional CVD risk factors and calcified atherosclerosis have heightened interest in novel predictors of arterial calcium. One such hypothesis is for an inverse relationship between bone mineral density (BMD) and calcified coronary atherosclerosis. Although contrary findings have been reported, the majority of cross-sectional and all prospective studies have demonstrated a significant inverse association between arterial calcium deposits and BMD. The few studies that include men are equivocal, and, to date, no study has investigated the relationship between BMD and systemic arterial calcium. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that lumbar BMD is significantly associated with the presence of arterial atherosclerotic calcium in the carotid, coronary, and iliac vascular beds as well as the aorta.