Type 1 Diabetics May Experience Bone Weakening

Filed in archive Research on December 11, 2006

Researchers believe that Type 1 diabetics diagnosed in childhood may face an increased risk of bone frailty as they age:

However, recent observations "suggest that children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus are at risk for decreased bone mass," Moyer-Mileur of the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, and colleagues note in the Journal of Pediatrics.

To look into this, the researchers studied 42 diabetics between 12 and 18 years old and compared them with 199 healthy subjects from the same region.

"Body size and maturation were similar between groups," the researchers note. Nonetheless, "diabetics had lower tibia, spine and whole body bone characteristics, but greater muscle mass and lower bone mineral content."

Annual gains in bone mineral content were lower in diabetics, and this was related to poorer control of blood glucose levels. However, whole body muscle mass was greater, the team found.

Overall, the diabetics "had 8.5 percent less whole body bone mineral content to muscle mass, suggesting that bone mineral deposition was not adequately adapted to muscle gains," the investigators report.

Of course, everyone is at risk for this as they age, and we can all benefit from taking better care of ourselves.