Vertebral fracture (VF) prevalence up to 24% has been reported among young people with type 1 diabetes (T1D). If this high prevalence is confirmed, individuals with T1D could benefit from VF screening to prevent subsequent fractures.
To compare the prevalence of VFs between adults with T1D and controls without diabetes.
Cross-sectional study.
Outpatient clinics of two tertiary care centers.
127 adults with T1D and 65 controls with a similar age, sex and BMI distribution.
Prevalent VFs were assessed using vertebral fracture assessment (VFA) by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). The modified algorithm-based qualitative (mABQ) method was applied. Bone mineral density (BMD) and Trabecular Bone Score (TBS) were assessed by DXA. Serum bone turnover markers and sclerostin were measured in a subgroup of participants.
Participants with T1D (70 women/57 men) had a mean age of 42.8±14.8 years, median diabetes duration of 25.8 (15.8-34.4) years, mean BMI of 26.6±5.4 kg/m 2 and mean HbA1c over the past 3 years of 7.5±0.9%. Controls (35 women/30 men) had a mean age of 42.2±15.9 years and mean BMI of 26.1±5.1 kg/m 2. The prevalence of VFs was comparable between the groups (2.4% vs 3.1%, p=0.99). TBS, BMD at the total hip and femoral neck, and bone formation and resorption markers were lower while sclerostin levels were similar in participants with T1D vs controls.
Our results do not confirm an increased prevalence of VFs with VFA when using the mABQ method in men and women with relatively well-controlled T1D.

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