ABSTRACT
Objective To determine the associations of visceral adipose tissue area and retinol binding protein 4(RBP4) with bone mineral density (BMD) in the postmenopausal patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).Methods The cross-sectional study involved 69 postmenopausal patients with T2DM (aged 40-73 years) in our hospital,they were divided into 4 groups:group 1:BMI ＜26.0 kg/m2,VAT＜ 155.3 cm2 ; group 2:BMI ＜ 26.0 kg/m2,VAT＞ 155.3 cm2 ; group 3:BMI ＜26.0 kg/m2,VAT＜155.3 cm2;group 4:BMI＜26.0 kg/m2,VAT＞155.3 cm2.The visceral adipose tissue (VAT) area and subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) area were obtained by computed tomography(CT) and BMD was measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA).Results VAT area had negative associanons with lumbar spine BMD (LS-BMD) and greater trochanter BMD (GT-BMD) (r=-0.367,r=-0.301),and with LS-BMD,GT-BMD,femoral neck BMD (FN-BMD) and intertrochanter BMD (IT-BMD) even after adjusting for body mass index(BMI) and SAT (r =-0.433,-0.432,-0.300,-0.297,all P＜0.05).A negative relationship was showed between LNRBP4 and LS-BMD in postmenopausal female patients (all P ＜ 0.05.) The postmenopausal female patients with T2DM were divided into four groups according to the mean values of BMI and VAT area.BMD at any site of group 3(LS-BMD:1.00±0.20,FN-BMD:0.82±0.17,IT-BMD:1.13±0.21,GT-BMD:0.76±0.18) were higher than group 2(0.79±0.14,0.70±0.10,0.95±0.14,0.58±0.11).The multiple regression indicated that the variation of predictors (age,DUR,BMI,VAT,HbA1c,FINS and PMT) explained 51.7％,52.2％,59.8％ and 75.3％ of the variation in LS-BMD.FN-BMD,IT-BMD,GT-BMD among subjects,respectively(all P＜0.01).Conclusions The influence of fat on bone density may depend on its site of VAT or SAT.VAT could be an independent determinant factor of BMDin the postmenopausal female with T2DM.Serum RBP4 may contribute to this effect.