A new study investigated the association between glycemic variability – through continuous glucose monitoring (CGM), and osteoporosis in type 2 diabetic patients.

This cross-sectional study enrolled 362 subjects with T2DM who underwent bone mineral density (BMD) measurement and were monitored by a CGM system between 2019-2020.

Overall, the participants included 190 patients with normal bone mass; 132 with osteopenia; and 40 with osteoporosis. Those with osteoporosis had greater 24-hour mean blood glucose (24-h MBG), the standard deviation of 24-h MBG (SDBG), coefficient of variation (CV), mean amplitude of glycemic excursions (MAGE), but a lower time in the range between 3.9-10 mmol/L (TIR). While age, female gender, body mass index (BMI), serum uric acid (SUA), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and MAGE were shown to independently contribute to osteoporosis.

Therefore, apart from the conventional influence factors like – age, female gender, BMI, LDL-C, and SUA, increased glycemic variability assessed by MAGE is also a contributing factor for osteoporosis in T2DM.

Source: Frontiers in Endocrinology. 2022 Jun 6;13:861131. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2022.861131.