Correlation study: Bone density and circulating inflammatory markers in postmenopausal patients

Objective

This study aims to investigate the correlation between changes in bone mineral density (BMD) in postmenopausal women and circulating inflammatory markers.

Methods

This retrospective study focused on postmenopausal women admitted to the orthopedic department of Suzhou Benq Medical Center from June 2022 to December 2023, following predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria. We retrospectively collected data on initial blood routine test results and bone density measurements for all study subjects upon admission, including parameters such as white blood cell count (WBC), C-reactive protein, interleukin-6 (IL-6), and procalcitonin (PCT). Additionally, the systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) was calculated using neutrophil count, lymphocyte count, and platelet count. Statistical analyses using SPSS and GraphPad software were performed to assess the correlation between bone density and inflammatory markers.

Results

Patients were classified into three groups based on BMD results, including 60 individuals in the osteoporosis (OP) group, 127 individuals in the osteopenia group, and 37 individuals in the Normal group, respectively. Principal component analysis analysis suggested that WBC, SII, and postmenopausal OP (PMOP) held significant feature values. Correlation analysis indicated a correlation between WBC (p = 0.021), IL-6 (p = 0.044), SII (p = 0.034), and PMOP. One-way ANOVA analysis revealed significant differences in IL-6 (p = 0.0179), SII (p = 0.0210), and PCT (p = 0.0200) among the three groups. Finally, ROC curve analysis demonstrated that SII (area under the curve = 0.716) has predictive value for PMOP.

Conclusion

This study identified a certain predictive value for PMOP through the assessment of inflammatory markers in peripheral blood using routine blood tests.