Association of bone mineral density (BMD), body mass index (BMI) and serum osteocalcin in South Indian post menopausal women Chrisanne Fernandez a , Priscilla Jayasingh a, *, Saranya Pandi b , Nachiammai Solaiyappan b , Akshaya Murugesan b a PG & Research Department of Zoology, Lady Doak College, Madurai 625002, Tamil Nadu, India b Department of Biotechnology, Lady Doak College, Madurai, 625002, Tamil Nadu, India A R T I C L E I N F O Article history: Received 1 November 2017 Received in revised form 16 February 2018 Accepted 17 February 2018 Available online xxx Keywords: BMD BMI Osteocalcin Osteoporosis Postmenopausal women A B S T R A C T Aim: The main objective of this study is to analyse the correlation of body mass index (BMI), bone mineral density (BMD) and age with that of serum osteocalcin in postmenopausal women of south India and thereafter investigate the possibility of using osteocalcin as a tool for early diagnosis of osteoporosis. Method: Forty five women with age ranging from 45-75 years old underwent BMD [using quantitative ultrasonography (QUS) examinations at t- score at calcaneus], BMI, and osteocalcin estimation. The correlation of results obtained between the above parameters was evaluated using Pearson’s correlation test. Result: The findings indicated a significant negative correlation between serum osteocalcin levels and BMD (r = 0.628, p  0.0001) and linear regression equation (y = 2.538x + 15.88, R 2 = 0.395). The correlation between osteocalcin with BMI and that of age with osteocalcin was found to be non-significant (r = 0.0048, p = 0.97 & r = 0.0701, p = 0.64 respectively). Conclusion: Since the findings highlight a significant correlation between serum osteocalcin and BMD, this study infers that serum osteocalcin along with BMD could be used as a specific bone marker to detect the onset of osteoporosis at a considerably early age among postmenopausal women. © 2018 Published by Elsevier, a division of RELX India, Pvt. Ltd on behalf of Indian Journal of Medical Specialities. 1. Introduction Osteoporosis considered a major health problem the world over is characterised by the decreased bone mineral density (BMD) and degenerative changes in the bone tissue structure, eventually posing a high risk for fractures [1]. The process of senescence triggers off hormonal imbalances, decreased mobility and superimposed on a genetic susceptibility, results in bone degeneration or osteoporosis [2,3]. With the onset of menopause the degree of rapid bone loss is believed to be more pronounced in the early years [4]. Utilising DXA scans and QUS as tools to measure bone density has rendered investigating and screening of osteoporosis more effective. However, a number of prospective studies report positive indications to predict fractures in the elderly using QUS as a tool. This highlight may also play a vital role in predicting fractures in the middle aged group of woman [5] . It has also been reported that major changes in the bone strength is related to bone mineral density [6]. However, since changes in BMD occur late in the lifespan and are relatively irreversible, BMD alone cannot provide direct information on bone metabolism. Using bone turnover markers such as osteocalcin, a valuable information on the early stages of bone loss has been obtained [7] . Osteocalcin is found to have a strong affinity with bone matrix responsible for mineralisation of bones [8]. Osteocalcin is also known as bone gamma- carboxy glutamic acid- containing protein (BG LAP) which is 49 residue polypeptide with 5.8 KDa. Other markers of bone turnover as in the case of serum osteocalcin increase with age of women. Thus levels of bone turnover markers and age seem to be directly proportionate [9] . Whereas, BMD and bone turnover markers indicate an inverse proportion, a low BMD is associated with a high bone turnover marker. This inference could be used to predict osteoporosis. The objective and aim of the present study is to evaluate the serum level of osteocalcin in patients and controls and to correlate the findings of the respective BMD, BMI and age with the serum level of osteocalcin in the experimental groups of South Indian post menopausal women. Abbreviations: QUS, quantitative ultrasound; BMD, bone mineral density; BMI, body mass index; DXA, dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry; BG LAP, bone gamma- carboxy glutamic acid containing protein; SOS, speed of sound; WHO, World Health Organization; BGP, serum bone Gla protein; GCA, gamma carboxyglutamic acid. * Corresponding author. E-mail address: priscilla@ldc.edu.in (P. Jayasingh). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.injms.2018.02.002 0976-2884/© 2018 Published by Elsevier, a division of RELX India, Pvt. Ltd on behalf of Indian Journal of Medical Specialities. Indian Journal of Medical Specialities xxx (2018) xxx–xxx G Model INJMS 168 No. of Pages 4 Please cite this article in press as: C. Fernandez, et al., Association of bone mineral density (BMD), body mass index (BMI) and serum osteocalcin in South Indian post menopausal women, Indian J Med Spec. (2018), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.injms.2018.02.002 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Indian Journal of Medical Specialities journal home page : www.elsevier.com/loca te/injms