Association between Visceral Fat and Bone Mineral Density in Both Male and Female Patients with Adult Growth Hormone Deficiency

Linman Li; Li Zhong; Xiaoya Zheng; Wenyi You; Yunting Wang; Jihui Yu; Xun Wu; Wei Ren; Gangyi Yang

doi:10.1155/2020/5079625

Association between Visceral Fat and Bone Mineral Density in Both Male and Female Patients with Adult Growth Hormone Deficiency

Biochem Res Int. 2020 Jul 5:2020:5079625. doi: 10.1155/2020/5079625. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Linman Li¹, Li Zhong¹, Xiaoya Zheng², Wenyi You³, Yunting Wang², Jihui Yu¹, Xun Wu², Wei Ren², Gangyi Yang⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Health Management Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016, China.
² Department of Endocrinology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016, China.
³ Infectious Diseases Department, The People's Hospital of Yubei District of Chongqing City, Chongqing 401120, China.
⁴ Department of Endocrinology, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400010, China.

Abstract

Aim: Adult growth hormone deficiency (AGHD) is associated with an increased risk of fractures. The interactions between various body composition and bone are known to be complex in nature. However, very few studies have examined this crosstalk in AGHD. In this study, we sought to investigate the relationship between various parameters of body composition and bone mineral density (BMD) as well as determine the role of visceral fat in determining the bone mass in patients with AGHD.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study on 57 patients with AGHD. Anthropometry, biochemistry, and analysis of body composition and BMD were performed according to standard protocols. Male and female patients were classified into those with osteoporosis and those without osteoporosis (normal subjects and patients with osteopenia). Further, we analyzed the correlation between the BMD and measurements obtained for various body composition parameters in male and female AGHD patients.

Results: Our findings indicated that among female AGHD patients, those with osteoporosis had a significantly higher levels of fat mass (FM) and visceral adipose tissue mass (VATM) (both, P < 0.05) than those without osteoporosis. Further, Pearson correlation analysis showed that the values of age, body mass index (BMI), FM, and VATM correlated negatively with BMD in women with AGHD (all P < 0.05); however, this association was not noted in men. After adjusting for the other covariates, VATM was found to be independently correlated with the BMD in female patients with AGHD.

Conclusions: A close correlation was noted between VATM and BMD in female patients with AGHD.