Association between insulin-like growth factor I and bone mineral density in older women and men: the Framingham Heart Study

JA Langlois, CJ Rosen, M Visser… - The Journal of …, 1998 - academic.oup.com
JA Langlois, CJ Rosen, M Visser, MT Hannan, T Harris, PWF Wilson, DP Kiel
The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 1998academic.oup.com
Few studies of the GH axis and bone have focused specifically on elderly people. The
objective of this study was to determine the association between insulin-like growth factor I
(IGF-I) and bone mineral density (BMD) in 425 women and 257 men aged 72–94 who
participated in the Framingham Osteoporosis Study component of the Framingham Heart
Study in 1992–1993. Serum IGF-I level was determined by RIA. BMD at three femoral sites
and the lumbar spine was determined by dual x-ray absorptiometry, and at the radius by …
Few studies of the GH axis and bone have focused specifically on elderly people. The objective of this study was to determine the association between insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) and bone mineral density (BMD) in 425 women and 257 men aged 72–94 who participated in the Framingham Osteoporosis Study component of the Framingham Heart Study in 1992–1993. Serum IGF-I level was determined by RIA. BMD at three femoral sites and the lumbar spine was determined by dual x-ray absorptiometry, and at the radius by single-photon absorptiometry. IGF-I level was positively associated with BMD at all five sites (Ward’s area, femoral neck, trochanter, radius, and lumbar spine) in women after adjustment for weight loss and other factors (P ≤ 0.01) and protein intake in a subset of participants (0.006 < P < 0.07). A threshold effect of higher BMD was evident at each of the 3 femoral sites and the spine (P < 0.03) but not at the radius for women in the highest quintile of IGF-I (≥179 g/liter) vs. those in the lowest four quintiles. IGF-I was not significantly associated with BMD in men. These results indicate that higher IGF-I levels are associated with greater BMD in very old women, and suggest that future clinical trials employing GH may have a role in the development of treatments for older women with osteoporosis.
Oxford University Press