Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Nov-Dec;22(6):766-769.
doi: 10.4103/ijem.IJEM_160_18.

Bone Health in Patients with Cushing's Syndrome

Affiliations

Bone Health in Patients with Cushing's Syndrome

Sk Hammadur Rahaman et al. Indian J Endocrinol Metab. 2018 Nov-Dec.

Abstract

Introduction: Osteoporosis is a well-recognized complication of Cushing's syndrome (CS). Data on bone health in patients with CS from south Asian countries, which are vitamin D deficient, are scarce.

Aims: We assessed bone mineral density (BMD) in patients with CS in comparison to controls. We also looked into how BMD differs in different types of endogenous CS.

Materials and methods: Thirty-seven cases of CS and 48 matched controls were studied for clinical, biochemical, hormonal, and bone densitometry parameters.

Results: BMD (both total lumbar spine (LS) and hip) as well as Z scores were significantly lower in CS patients as compared to controls. Neither LS nor hip BMD was significantly different among different etiological groups of CS. The difference in BMD was also not significant between eumenorrhoeic and oligo-/amenorrhoeic patients with CS.

Conclusion: Patients with CS are at increased risk of having fracture secondary to osteopenia and osteoporosis. There is no significant association of vitamin D and intact parathormone with low BMD in patients with CS.

Keywords: Bone density; Cushing's syndrome; fracture; osteopenia; osteoporosis.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

There are no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
BMD: T (a,b,c) and Z (d,e,f) at LS and hip in both CS and controls
Figure 2
Figure 2
Correlation of BMD and morning and evening cortisol

References

    1. Ross EJ, Linch DC. Cushing's syndrome-killing disease: Discriminatory value of signs and symptoms aiding early diagnosis. Lancet. 1982;2:646–9. - PubMed
    1. Manelli F, Giustina A. Glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis. Trends Endocrinol Metab. 2000;11:79–85. - PubMed
    1. Vestergaard P, Lindholm J, Jorgensen JO, Hagen C, Hoeck HC, Laurberg P, et al. Increased risk of osteoporotic fractures in patients with Cushing's syndrome. Eur J Endocrinol. 2002;146:51–6. - PubMed
    1. Calvo MS, Eyre DR, Gundberg CM. Molecular basis and clinical application of biological markers of bone turnover. Endocr Rev. 1996;17:333–68. - PubMed
    1. Cortet B, Cortet C, Blanckaert F, d’Herbomez M, Marchandise X, Wémeau JL, et al. Quantitative ultrasound of bone and markers of bone turnover in Cushings syndrome. Osteoporos Int. 2001;12:117–23. - PubMed