inhaled glucocorticoid use and the risk of osteoporosis in asthmatic patients

Introduction: many recent studies have focused on the possible role of corticosteroid inhalation in osteoporosis in asthmatic patients. aim: this study aimed to determine whether the indicators of bone formation or resorption are different between asthmatic patients and healthy subjects. materials and methods: to achieve this outcome, 21 middle-aged patients with mild to moderate asthma treated with inhaled corticosteroid and the same number of healthy individuals matched for age (38 ± 6.5 years) were enrolled in this study by accessible sampling. all the subjects were non-trained and non-smokers. the serum levels of osteocalcin (oc), alkaline phosphatase (alp), and cross-linked telopeptides of type i collagen (ctx) were measured to assess and compare bone formation and resorption between the two groups. an independent-sample t test was used to compare all variables between the patients with asthma and the healthy subjects. results: significant differences in body weight and other anthropometrical markers were not observed between the two groups (p > 0.05). serum osteocalcin level was borderline significantly lower in the asthmatic patients than in the healthy subjects (p = 0.051). the alp level was significantly lower (p = 0.021) but the serum ctx levels were higher in the asthmatic patients than in the healthy subjects (p = 0.014). conclusion: on the basis of these findings, inhaled corticosteroid can affect bone turnover in asthmatic patients, although more research is needed to further explore any potential link between corticosteroids and osteoporosis.