Aim: To determine the relationship between bone microarchitecture, as measured by trabecular bone score, and advanced glycation end-product accumulation, as assessed by skin autofluorescence.
Methods: This was a cross-sectional study. Participants were 64 post-menopausal women with type 2 diabetes and 175 post-menopausal women without diabetes. Trabecular bone score and skin autofluorescence data were obtained at time of bone density measurement.
Results: Trabecular bone score and skin autofluorescence were inversely correlated in women with type 2 diabetes (r = -0.34, P = 0.006); no correlation was seen in post-menopausal women without diabetes (r = -0.029, P = 0.707). After adjustment, neither skin autofluorescence nor a diagnosis of diabetes were associated with trabecular bone score, but HbA1c and waist circumference were independently associated with trabecular bone score.
Conclusion: Skin autofluorescence did not predict trabecular bone score. In contrast, glycaemia, as reflected by HbA1c , and visceral adiposity, as reflected by waist circumference, were independently associated with trabecular bone score.
© 2020 Diabetes UK.