Abnormally low serum albumin levels are associated with abnormal bone mineral density and osteoporotic fractures: a retrospective studies.

BACKGROUND

Many studies have indicated that abnormal bone mineral density (BMD) is related to abnormal liver and kidney function, but the effect of serum albumin level on abnormal BMD and osteoporotic fracture is still controversial. The aim of this retrospective study was to investigate the effects of serum albumin levels on abnormal BMD and osteoporotic fractures.

METHODS

The study included 538 patients through the electronic medical records of inpatients and outpatients stored at Liyuan Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology. A multivariate logistic regression model was employed to test the relationship between serum albumin levels and abnormal BMD, and the effect of serum albumin levels on osteoporotic fractures was verified through the U test. Correlation between age, sex, kidney stones, coronary heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, fatty liver disease, haemoglobin (HB), mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC), platelets (PLT), platelet distribution width (PDW), lymphocytes (LYMP), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), total protein (TP), albumin (ALB), uric acid (UA), total bilirubin (TBIL), total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and abnormal BMD were analysed by logistic regression modelling after excluding confounding factors.

RESULTS

The ALB level in osteoporotic patients was 41.70 (36.40-45.00) g/L, which was significantly lower than those in the normal BMD and reduced BMD groups. The odds ratio (OR) (95% confidence interval [CI]) between the osteoporosis and normal BMD groups was 0.445 (0.394-0.502); the OR (95% CI) between the osteoporosis and reduced BMD groups was 0.395 (0.341-0.459). In the subgroup analysis by whether or not a fracture was present, the OR (95% CI) was 0.073 (0.045-0.119).

CONCLUSIONS

ALB is a protective factor against osteoporosis and osteoporotic fractures, suggesting that it may have the potential to predict osteoporosis onset and fractures.