RESEARCH ARTICLE
Bone Mineral Density and Secondary Hyperparathyroidism in Pulmonary Hypertension
Silvia Ulrich*, Martin Hersberger, Manuel Fischler, Lars C Huber, Oliver Senn, Ursula Treder, Rudolf Speich, Christoph Schmid
Article Information
Identifiers and Pagination:
Year: 2009Volume: 3
First Page: 53
Last Page: 60
Publisher ID: TORMJ-3-53
DOI: 10.2174/1874306400903010053
Article History:
Received Date: 12/1/2009Revision Received Date: 15/1/2009
Acceptance Date: 23/1/2009
Electronic publication date: 14/4/2009
Collection year: 2009
open-access license: This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted, non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited.
Abstract
Background:
Low bone mineral density (BMD) is common in chronic lung diseases and associated with reduced quality of life. Little is known about BMD in pulmonary hypertension (PH).
Methods:
Steroid-naïve patients with PH (n=34; 19 idiopathic, 15 chronic thromboembolic) had BMD measured by DXA at the time of diagnostic right heart catheterization. Exercise capacity, quality of life and various parameters related to PH severity and bone metabolism were also assessed. 24 patients with left heart failure (LHF) were similarly assessed as controls.
Results:
The prevalence of osteopenia was high both in PH (80%) and in controls with LHF (75%). Low BMD was associated with lean body mass, age, lower BMI, impaired exercise capacity and in PH with higher pulmonary vascular resistance. Serum parathyroid hormone (PTH) was elevated and considerably higher in PH than in LHF (above normal, in 55 vs 29%). Secondary hyperparathyroidism was not related to impaired renal function but possibly to low vitamin D status.
Conclusions:
Osteopenia is common in PH and in chronically ill patients with LHF. Osteopenia is associated with known risk factors but in PH also with disease severity. Preventive measures in an increasingly chronic ill PH population should be considered. Secondary hyperparathyroidism is highly prevalent in PH and might contribute to bone and possibly pulmonary vascular disease. Whether adequate vitamin D substitution could prevent low BMD in PH remains to be determined.
