Bone Mineral Metabolism and Different Indices of Skeletal Health of Ladakhi Women Living at High Altitude

Overview

Journal Osteoporos Sarcopenia

Date 2024 Feb 20

PMID 38374823

Authors

Lijy K Babu

Snigdha Shaw

Dishari Ghosh

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Objectives: High altitude possesses a great challenge for human survival owing to low oxygen tension and has been reported to cause bone deterioration among sojourns of high altitude. The bone health of Ladakhi women is investigated for the first time in this study.

Methods: Dual energy X-ray absorptiometry of Ladakhi women and sea level women was done at the radius and calcaneus using EXA-3000 (Osteosys, Korea), followed by colorimetric and Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay analysis of parameters regulating bone health.

Results: There was no statistically significant difference between bone mineral density of Ladakhi women and sea level women at radius (P = 0.287) or calcaneus (P = 0.839). Almost similar cases of osteopenia were reported at both sites measured in the study among both groups. Two post-menopausal Ladakhi women however, had osteoporosis at the radius while 4 had osteoporosis at calcaneus. Significant increase in calcium levels with a decrease in intact parathyroid hormone and an increase in calcitonin levels were observed in Ladakhi women as compared to sea level women. Though there was no significant difference in 25-hydroxy vitamin D levels of both groups, a higher percentage of 25-hydroxy vitamin D deficiency (77% 23%) was observed in Ladakhi women as compared to sea level women. Estradiol levels were similar in both groups.

Conclusions: The present study suggest that there is no significant relationship between high altitude living and bone mineral density among Ladakhi women.

References

Tremblay J, Ainslie P . Global and country-level estimates of human population at high altitude. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2021; 118(18). PMC: 8106311. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2102463118. View

Khinda R, Valecha S, Kumar N, Walia J, Singh K, Sethi S . Prevalence and Predictors of Osteoporosis and Osteopenia in Postmenopausal Women of Punjab, India. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022; 19(5). PMC: 8910053. DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19052999. View

Regard J, Zhong Z, Williams B, Yang Y . Wnt signaling in bone development and disease: making stronger bone with Wnts. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Biol. 2012; 4(12). PMC: 3504445. DOI: 10.1101/cshperspect.a007997. View

Armstrong V, Muzylak M, Sunters A, Zaman G, Saxon L, Price J . Wnt/beta-catenin signaling is a component of osteoblastic bone cell early responses to load-bearing and requires estrogen receptor alpha. J Biol Chem. 2007; 282(28):20715-27. DOI: 10.1074/jbc.M703224200. View

Surowiec R, Allen M, Wallace J . Bone hydration: How we can evaluate it, what can it tell us, and is it an effective therapeutic target?. Bone Rep. 2022; 16:101161. PMC: 8718737. DOI: 10.1016/j.bonr.2021.101161. View

Sharma S, Tandon V, Mahajan A, Kour A, Kumar D . Preliminary screening of osteoporosis and osteopenia in urban women from Jammu using calcaneal QUS. Indian J Med Sci. 2006; 60(5):183-9. View

Du J, He Z, Cui J, Li H, Xu M, Zhang S . Osteocyte Apoptosis Contributes to Cold Exposure-induced Bone Loss. Front Bioeng Biotechnol. 2021; 9:733582. PMC: 8632005. DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2021.733582. View

Westerterp K, Kayser B . Body mass regulation at altitude. Eur J Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2005; 18(1):1-3. DOI: 10.1097/00042737-200601000-00001. View

Zou Y, Liu Z, Li H, Hou L, Pang J, Liu X . Evaluation of bone metabolism-associated biomarkers in Tibet, China. J Clin Lab Anal. 2021; 35(12):e24068. PMC: 8649332. DOI: 10.1002/jcla.24068. View

10.

Movassagh E, Vatanparast H . Current Evidence on the Association of Dietary Patterns and Bone Health: A Scoping Review. Adv Nutr. 2017; 8(1):1-16. PMC: 5227978. DOI: 10.3945/an.116.013326. View

11.

Balogh E, Paragh G, Jeney V . Influence of Iron on Bone Homeostasis. Pharmaceuticals (Basel). 2018; 11(4). PMC: 6316285. DOI: 10.3390/ph11040107. View

12.

Deng C, Wang P, Zhang X, Wang Y . Short-term, daily exposure to cold temperature may be an efficient way to prevent muscle atrophy and bone loss in a microgravity environment. Life Sci Space Res (Amst). 2015; 5:1-5. PMC: 4374360. DOI: 10.1016/j.lssr.2015.02.001. View

13.

Gambacciani M, Levancini M . Hormone replacement therapy and the prevention of postmenopausal osteoporosis. Prz Menopauzalny. 2015; 13(4):213-20. PMC: 4520366. DOI: 10.5114/pm.2014.44996. View

14.

Zargar A, Ahmad S, Masoodi S, Wani A, Bashir M, Laway B . Vitamin D status in apparently healthy adults in Kashmir Valley of Indian subcontinent. Postgrad Med J. 2007; 83(985):713-6. PMC: 2659966. DOI: 10.1136/pgmj.2007.059113. View

15.

Beall C, Laskowski D, Erzurum S . Nitric oxide in adaptation to altitude. Free Radic Biol Med. 2012; 52(7):1123-34. PMC: 3295887. DOI: 10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2011.12.028. View

16.

Shetty S, Kapoor N, Naik D, Asha H, Thomas N, Paul T . The impact of the Hologic vs the ICMR database in diagnosis of osteoporosis among South Indian subjects. Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). 2014; 81(4):519-22. DOI: 10.1111/cen.12495. View

17.

HANNON J, HARRIS C, SHIELDS J . Alterations in the serum electrolyte levels of women during high altitude (4,300 m) acclimatization. Int J Biometeorol. 1970; 14(2):201-9. DOI: 10.1007/BF01440964. View

18.

Szulc P, Seeman E, Delmas P . Biochemical measurements of bone turnover in children and adolescents. Osteoporos Int. 2000; 11(4):281-94. DOI: 10.1007/s001980070116. View

19.

BHARADWAJ H, Singh A, Malhotra M . Body composition of the high-altitude natives of Ladakh. A comparison with sea-level residents. Hum Biol. 1973; 45(3):423-34. View

20.

Basu M, Malhotra A, Pal K, Kumar R, Bajaj R, Verma S . Alterations in different indices of skeletal health after prolonged residency at high altitude. High Alt Med Biol. 2014; 15(2):170-5. DOI: 10.1089/ham.2013.1098. View