New study links bone deterioration to diabetes

New research has demonstrated for the first time that bone deterioration is a potential complication of type 2 diabetes.

A Mayo Clinic study published in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research has assessed 60 postmenopausal women using a new tool called OsteoProbe to measure bone material strength.

It was found that patients with diabetes experienced fractures at levels of bone density more regularly than the regular population, an association that was particularly strong among those with higher levels of hyperglycemia over a ten-year period.

Although more research needs to be conducted to confirm the link, it would appear that skeletal weakness could join vascular and heart disease, eye problems, nerve damage, kidney disease, hearing problems and Alzheimer's disease in the list of potential complications of diabetes.

Dr Sundeep Khosla, Mayo Clinic endocrinologist and senior author of the study, said: "This is the first demonstration … of compromised bone material in patients with type 2 diabetes. Clearly, the skeleton needs to be recognised as another important target of diabetes complications."

In the UK, approximately 2.9 million people are affected by diabetes, with 90 percent of these cases being the type 2 variant of the disease.