New risk factors for osteoporosis

Quantitative computed tomography (QCT) of the distal radius continues to reveal unsuspected new risk factors for decreased bone mass in younger women. Findings in the patients the authors studied include the following (reported in mean Hounsfield units). Eight nonsmoking patients with regular menses (aged 29 +- 5 years):cortex = 1,268 +- 61, trabeculae = 258 +- 63; eight nonsmoking patients with irregular menses (aged 31 +- 4 years):cortex = 1,186 +- 120, trabeculae = 157 +- 55; ten smoking patients with regular menses (aged 33 +- 4 years):cortex = 1,159 +- 89, trabeculae = 127 +- 58; and 41 nonsmoking patients with endometriosis (aged 30 +- 6 years):cortex = 1,33 +- 103, trabeculae = 173 +- 60. For all but the first group of patients, P < 0.5 when compared with normal controls. Potential causes are presented, including the intriguing possibility that decreased bone mass in endometriosis is the result of interleukin-1 production