Evaluation of Bone Mineral Density in Children with Type I Diabetes Mellitus and Relationship to Serum Levels of Osteopontin

Background Type I diabetes mellitus (T1DM) patients are at risk of osteoporosis and fracture due to the osteoblast and osteoclast malfunction. Osteopontin (OPN) as the major non-collagenous bone matrix protein is produced by osteoblasts and osteoclasts and involve in bone resorption, formation and remodeling. To evaluate the serum levels of OPN, bone mineral density (BMD) and correlation in patients with T1DM this study was designed. Methods In this case-control study, 87 children with T1DM and 87 age/sex-matched healthy subjects were enrolled. Blood samples were tested for OPN levels by ELISA. Dual energy X-ray absorptiometry was used to measure BMD. Results The mean levels of BMD in patients was significantly lower than control group (p<0.0001). There was no significant difference between patients and healthy subjects regarding the levels of OPN. However, in patients with high levels of OPN (mean+1.5 standard deviation) the BMD was significantly lower than other patients (p<0.0001). Totally there was a negative correlation between serum levels of OPN and BMD in patients with T1DM (p<0.016). Conclusion These results indicated that the BMD in T1DM is less than healthy children and elevated level of OPN in patients could be associated with low BMD. A linear negative correlation between serum OPN and total BMD of T1DM patients compared to control group was noticed in this study indicating that the amount of serum OPN could be effective on BMD and a good predicting factor for osteoporosis in patients.