Research article

Oxidative stress as a risk factor for osteoporosis in elderly Mexicans as characterized by antioxidant enzymes

Martha A Sánchez-Rodríguez^{* 1,2} , Mirna Ruiz-Ramos^{* 1,2} , Elsa Correa-Muñoz^{* 1,2} and Víctor Manuel Mendoza-Núñez^1,2

¹Unidad de Investigación en Gerontología, Facultad de Estudios Superiores Zaragoza, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), México D.F., México

²Batalla 5 de mayo s/n, esq. Fuerte de Loreto, Col. Ejército de Oriente, 09230 México, DF., México

author email corresponding author email* Contributed equally

BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders 2007, 8:124doi:10.1186/1471-2474-8-124

Published:	19 December 2007

Abstract

Background

Oxidative stress (OxS) has recently been linked with osteoporosis; however, we do not know the influence of OxS as an independent risk factor for this disease.

Methods

We conducted a case-control study in 94 subjects ≥60 years of age, 50 healthy and 44 with osteoporosis. We measured total antioxidant status, plasma lipid peroxides, antioxidant activity of superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and calculated the SOD/GPx ratio. Bone mineral density was obtained at the peripheral DXA in calcaneus using a portable Norland Apollo Densitometer^®. Osteoporosis was considered when subjects had a BMD of 2.5 standard deviations or more below the mean value for young adults.

Results

GPx antioxidant activity was significantly lower in the group of subjects with osteoporosis in comparison with the group of healthy subjects (p < 0.01); in addition, the SOD/GPx ratio was significantly higher in the group of individuals with osteoporosis (p < 0.05). In logistic regression analysis, we found OxS to be an independent risk factor for osteoporosis (odds ratio [OR] = 2.79; 95% confidence interval [95% CI] = 1.08–7.23; p = 0.034).

Conclusion

Our findings suggest that OxS is an independent risk factor for osteoporosis linked to increase of SOD/GPx ratio.