Relationship of C-reactive protein and bone mineral density in community-dwelling elderly females

OBJECTIVE: Inflammatory cytokines have been shown to play an important role in bone remodeling. We hypothesized that higher levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) are associated with low bone mineral density (BMD) in elderly females. DESIGN: Secondary data analysis of the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. PARTICIPANTS: 2,807 females 65 years and older. RESULTS: CRP was associated with BMD in the bivariate sis (p<0.001) but not in the multivariate analysis (p=0.23) Age, ethnicity, body mass index (BMI), hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and immobility were independently associated with BMD. CONCLUSIONS: CRP may be useful in screening for osteoporosis among community-dwelling elderly females. However, CRP appears to act as a surrogate for other factorsdirectly associated with osteoporosis. Further studies are needed to validate these findings.