Alterations of bone and mineral metabolism in diabetes mellitus. Part I. An overview.

A critical review of the literature leads to the conclusion that alterations of bone and mineral metabolism occur both in diabetic patients and in animals with experimentally induced insulin deficiency syndromes. The coexistence of juvenile insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (type 1) and radiological evidence of decreased bone mass (osteopenia) appears to be firmly established. Available data support the view that these patients have an increased propensity to skeletal fracture. Adult-onset, non-insulin-dependent diabetic populations, more heterogeneous as regards the type of diabetes, the therapy and the presence of complications or coexistent disease, are characterised by subpopulations with either a decreased, a normal or an increased bone mass. The pathogenesis of diabetic osteopenia is multifactorial. Data obtained from studies employing appropriate animal models of chronic insulin deficiency indicate that various metabolic and hormonal abnormalities may be involved.