Wang Yuxin, Hu Honghua, Huang Yi
School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology, Chengdu, China.
Department of Laboratory Medicine and Sichuan Provincial Key Laboratory for Human Disease Gene Study, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China.
Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2025 Sep 10;16:1615712. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2025.1615712. eCollection 2025.
Bone turnover markers (BTMs) are biomedical indicators used to assess the bone metabolism processes reflecting the activity of osteoblasts and osteoclasts. During childhood and adolescence, bone metabolism is highly active, leading to distinct levels and trends of BTMs compared with those of adults. BTMs correlate significantly with age, gender and environmental factors, making them valuable for evaluating bone health and developmental trajectories in pediatric populations. Due to the non-invasive characters and dynamic monitoring capabilities, BTMs are increasingly employed in research and clinical practice. Preliminary observations propose that BTMs demonstrate clinical utility in predicting fracture risk, enabling early diagnosis of osteoporosis and rickets, and monitoring therapeutic efficacy. However, Tracability of BTM measurement results and limited pediatric reference intervals remain critical challenges. Further research is needed to expand our understanding of the their mechanisms and optimize clinical applications. This article reviews the physiological and pathological states in children, discusses the current dilemmas of clinical application, and highlights the future research prospects.
骨转换标志物（BTMs）是用于评估反映成骨细胞和破骨细胞活性的骨代谢过程的生物医学指标。在儿童期和青少年期，骨代谢高度活跃，导致与成年人相比，BTMs具有不同的水平和变化趋势。BTMs与年龄、性别和环境因素显著相关，这使得它们在评估儿科人群的骨骼健康和发育轨迹方面具有重要价值。由于其非侵入性特点和动态监测能力，BTMs在研究和临床实践中越来越多地被采用。初步观察表明，BTMs在预测骨折风险、早期诊断骨质疏松症和佝偻病以及监测治疗效果方面具有临床实用性。然而，BTM测量结果的可追溯性以及儿科参考区间有限仍然是关键挑战。需要进一步研究以扩大我们对其机制的理解并优化临床应用。本文综述了儿童的生理和病理状态，讨论了当前临床应用中的困境，并突出了未来的研究前景。
