Serum concentrations of oxytocin, DHEA and follistatin are associated with osteoporosis or sarcopenia in community-dwelling postmenopausal women

Abstract

Background Osteoporosis and sarcopenia are major health issues in postmenopausal women due to their high prevalence and association with several adverse outcomes. However, no biomarkers may be used for screening and diagnosis. The current study investigated potential biomarkers for osteoporosis and/or sarcopenia in postmenopausal women. Methods A cross-sectional study on 478 healthy community-dwelling postmenopausal women aged 50–90 years was performed. Osteoporosis and sarcopenia were defined according to the World Health Organization (WHO) and Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia (AWGS). Results Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) was related to muscle strength (β = 0.19, p = 0.041) and function (β = 0.58, p = 0.004). Follistatin (β = − 0.27, p = 0.01) was related to muscle mass. Oxytocin (β = 0.59, p = 0.044) and DHEA (β = 0.51, p = 0.017) were related to bone mass. After adjusting for age, oxytocin (odds ratio (OR) 0.75; 95% confidence intervals (CI) 0.63–0.98; p = 0.019) was associated with osteoporosis, and DHEA (OR 0.73; 95% CI 0.51–0.96; p = 0.032) and follistatin (OR 1.66; 95% CI 1.19–3.57; p = 0.022) were associated with sarcopenia. Conclusions Postmenopausal women with sarcopenia were more likely to have lower DHEA levels and higher follistatin levels, and postmenopausal women with osteoporosis were more likely to have lower oxytocin levels.

Endogenous testosterone concentrations and muscle mass, strength and performance in women, a systematic review of observational studies

“…Of the 10 included studies, 4 were from Europe, 13–16 3 were from the United States 17–19 and 3 were from Asia 20–22 . The majority of the studies included middle aged or postmenopausal women; 1 study was of premenopausal women under 40 years of age 17 .…”

“…The majority of the studies included middle aged or postmenopausal women; 1 study was of premenopausal women under 40 years of age 17 . Eight studies reported cross‐sectional associations between testosterone and muscle outcomes, 13–15,17–20,22 1 reported longitudinal associations, 21 and 1 reported both cross‐sectional and longitudinal associations 16 …”

Biochemical Markers of Musculoskeletal Health and Aging to be Assessed in Clinical Trials of Drugs Aiming at the Treatment of Sarcopenia: Consensus Paper from an Expert Group Meeting Organized by the European Society for Clinical and Economic Aspects of Osteoporosis, Osteoarthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases (ESCEO) and the Centre Académique de Recherche et d'Expérimentation en Santé (CARES SPRL), Under the Auspices of the World Health Organization Collaborating Center for the Epidemiology of Musculoskel

“…Follistatin is an antagonist of TGF- β ligands, including myostatin and activin A, by acting on myogenic transcription factors. Follistatin has been correlated with muscle mass and muscle function in women in a small number of studies [ 28 , 31 ], but this association was not confirmed in men [ 28 ]. However, in mid- to long-term resistance training intervention trials, follistatin and/or follistatin/myostatin ratio were increased.…”

“…Nevertheless, as a biomarker of sarcopenia, DHEAS is the most studied steroid hormone. DHEAS is decreased in sarcopenia, while cortisol is increased, probably due to chronic inflammation [ 131 , 132 ]. Both DHEAS and cortisol blood levels have been shown to be modified by nutritional or nutritional-exercise interventional trials [ 133 ].…”

“…Of note, this method requires a standardized procedure for D3-Cr ingestion and urine collection. Most data on the same male cohort [155] Unknown Exogenous biomarker Associated with physical performance, handgrip strength but not systematically with walking speed [16,156] Rare studies in female [155] Predictive of major outcome (Falls, fracture, mobility, mortality) [18][19][20] Longitudinal studies only available in rats [157] Myokines Myostatin sex dependent Increased with higher muscle mass [26,158,159] Conflicting data [25] Decreased upon inflammation [26,160] Muscle protein turnover Gender dependent association with gait speed [161] Increased with obesity and heart failure [23,162] Probably decreased in long-term training [33] Increased with renal insufficiency [26,158] Follistatin Increased Associated with muscle mass and function in women [28,31] Conflicting data between men and women [28] Unknown Muscle protein turnover Increased in long-term training [33] Activin A…”