Correlation between skin and bone parameters in women with postmenopausal osteoporosis: a systematic review

Skin and bone share similarities in terms of biochemical composition. Some authors have hypothesized that their properties could evolve concomitantly with age, allowing the estimation of the parameters of one from those of the other. We performed a systematic review of studies reporting the correlation between skin and bone parameters in women with postmenopausal osteoporosis. Fourteen studies - including 1974 patients - were included in the review. Three of these studies included two groups of participants - osteoporotic and non-osteoporotic - in order to compare skin parameters between them: two studies found a significant difference between the two groups and one did not. Eleven of these studies included one population of interest and compared its skin and bone parameters in a continuous manner: eight studies compared dermal thickness to bone mineral density (seven found a significant correlation [R = 0.19-0.486] and one did not); two studies compared skin elasticity to bone mineral density (both found a significant correlation [R = 0.44-0.57); and one study compared skin collagen to bone mineral density and found a significant correlation (R = 0.587). It can be assumed that the estimation of skin alterations from ageing could help in estimating concomitant bone alterations.