Relationships of serum lipid profiles and bone mineral density in postmenopausal Chinese women.

OBJECTIVES

Recent studies suggest that serum lipid profiles are related to bone mineral density (BMD). But data about this relationship on Chinese population are scarce. We investigated the relationships between serum lipid and BMD in postmenopausal Chinese women.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted in 790 Chinese postmenopausal women. BMDs were measured by dual X-ray absorptiometry. Serum lipid profiles were obtained after a 12-h fasting.

RESULTS

Women with serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels of at least 1·55 mmol/l had a greater prevalence of osteoporosis compared with women with lower HDL-C (≤1·54 mmol/l). After controlling for age, menopausal duration, body mass index, serum creatinine levels, outdoor activity, smoking and alcohol intake, high HDL-C levels were associated with osteoporosis (OR = 1·64, 95%CI 1·16-2·33, P < 0·01). BMD at femoral neck and total hip was significantly lower in the higher HDL-C class than the lower class (0·722 ± 0·118 vs 0·744 ± 0·120 g/cm(2) , P < 0·01; 0·800 ± 0·126 vs 0·824 ± 0·125 g/cm(2) , P < 0·01, respectively). No association was found between total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) with BMD.

CONCLUSIONS

In Chinese postmenopausal women, elevated levels of serum HDL-C had a greater probability of being osteoporosis than the lower HDL-C levels. Our analysis showed higher HDL-C level that is favourable for cardiovascular diseases should be regarded as a risk factor for osteoporosis.