Hyperhomocysteinemia is Associated with Inflammation, Bone Resorption, Vitamin B12 and Folate Deficiency and MTHFR C677T Polymorphism in Postmenopausal Women with Decreased Bone Mineral Density

Massimo De Martinis, Maria Maddalena Sirufo, Cristina Nocelli, Lara Fontanella and Lia Ginaldi
Additional contact information
Massimo De Martinis: Department of Life, Health and Environmental Sciences, University of L’Aquila, 67100 L’Aquila, Italy
Maria Maddalena Sirufo: Department of Life, Health and Environmental Sciences, University of L’Aquila, 67100 L’Aquila, Italy
Cristina Nocelli: Pneumology Unit, AUSL 04, 64100 Teramo, Italy
Lara Fontanella: Department of Legal and Social Sciences, University of Chieti-Pescara, 65127 Pescara, Italy
Lia Ginaldi: Department of Life, Health and Environmental Sciences, University of L’Aquila, 67100 L’Aquila, Italy

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 12, 1-15

Abstract: Osteoporosis is an age-related bone disease, affecting mainly postmenopausal women, characterized by decreased bone mineral density (BMD) and consequent risk of fractures. Homocysteine (Hcy), a sulfur-aminoacid whose serum level is regulated by methylenetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) activity and vitamin B12 and folate as cofactors, is a risk factor for inflammatory diseases. Literature data concerning the link between Hcy and osteoporosis are still debated. The aim of our study was to assess the relationship among Hcy and BMD, inflammation, vitamin status and bone turnover in postmenopausal osteoporosis. In 252 postmenopausal women, BMD was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). In addition to serum Hcy, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP) and bone turnover markers (bone alkaline phosphatase-BAP, osteocalcin-OC, C-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen (CTX), vitamin deficiencies and MTHFR-C677T polymorphism were evaluated. Hcy, inflammation, bone resorption markers and prevalence of C677T polymorphism were higher, whereas vitamin D, B12, folate, and bone formation markers were lower in women with decreased BMD compared to those with normal BMD. Our results suggest a significant association between Hcy, BMD and inflammation in postmenopausal osteoporosis. The regulation of Hcy overproduction and the modulation of the inflammatory substrate could represent additional therapeutic approaches for osteoporosis prevention.

Keywords: osteoporosis; hyperhomocysteinemia; inflammation; vitamin D; bone; vitamin B12; folate; MTHFR; postmenopausal women; bone mineral density (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/12/4260/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/12/4260/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:12:p:4260-:d:371665

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().