Does Diabetes Improve Bone Mass?

Filed in archive Research on June 30, 2006

Here's some odd news: some scientists believe that diabetes actually
improves bone mass in elderly women, lowering the chance of osteoporosis and hip fractures.

Dr. Dobnig noted that, type 2 diabetes in a largely vitamin D-deficient female nursing home population is associated with significantly lower bone turnover and higher multivariate adjusted results on bone ultrasound measurements, according to the researchers. It is therefore of interest to learn whether the effect is consistent in older nursing-home residents.

Although diabetes mellitus was indeed found to have a protective effect on bone, it was offset by increased incidence of falls in elderly diabetics, Dr. Dobnig concluded.

Will we ever uncover the mysteries--and truths--of diabetes?

(Picture: Pink Sunrise)