American Indian Women, Type 2 Diabetes and Osteoporosis

A new study has examined the relationship between bone mineral density (BMD), American Indian blood and type 2 diabetes. The research, “Relationship of American Indian blood quantum with osteoporosis risk: a cross-sectional study of American Indian women in Oklahoma,” was published in the October 2018 edition of Osteoporosis International.

Brenda J. Smith, Ph.D., associate dean of the Graduate College and the Regents Professor in Nutritional Sciences at Oklahoma State University and study co-author told OTW, “Limited information is available about American Indian women’s risk for osteoporosis. Even some of the larger studies that have examined osteoporosis risk among postmenopausal women such as the Women’s Health Initiative and National Osteoporosis Risk Assessment Study have included only a small cohort of American Indian women. American Indians make up a considerable portion of Oklahoma’s population and we thought it was an ideal opportunity to learn more about this population’s fracture risk profile.”

The study enrolled 301 women, aged 50 or more years, to participate in the Oklahoma American Indian Women’s Osteoporosis Study. The researchers collected baseline bone density, fracture history, bone biochemical markers, and potential risk factors data.

Dr. Smith summarized the study’s outcome to OTW, “Based on our assessment of bone mineral density (BMD), increasing American Indian blood quantum was associated with a lower prevalence of osteoporosis and significantly higher BMD at the hip (total hip and intertrochanteric and femur neck subregions) and spine.”

“While it appears that, in general, American Indian women with higher blood quantum have a lower risk of osteoporosis, it is important to consider these findings with some degree of caution. American Indian women are a high-risk group for type 2 diabetes. Research has shown that there is a disconnect between BMD and fracture risk with increasing duration of diabetes, indicating that type 2 diabetics fracture at a lower T-score. Thus, it stands to reason that despite the potential for a higher BMD, American Indian women who are type 2 diabetics should be closely monitored.”