Bone metabolic marker levels in residents of a rural community in Japan

Abstract

The sex and age distributions of values of bone metabolic markers were investigated among the inhabitants of a mountain village in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. The survey was carried out in Miyama village, which has a population of 2372 (1129 men and 1243 women) based on the resident registration of 1990. In this village, all residents aged 40 years or over are eligible for general mass health examinations once a year. In the present study, bone metabolic markers were measured in recruited participants in the health examinations conducted in 1992 in each of four age strata: 40–49, 50–59, 60–69, and 70–79 years. The bone metabolic markers measured were osteocalcin (BGP), carboxyterminal peptide of type I procollagen (PICP), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), crosslinked carboxyterminal telopeptide region of type I collagen (ICTP), pyridinoline (Pyr), and deoxypyridinoline (D-Pyr). In men in their 40s, 50s, 60s, and 70s, the mean serum BGP level was 6.15, 7.04, 7.65, and 7.69 ng/ml, respectively; the level in men in their 40s was significantly lower than that in those in their 60s. The serum PICP level in the 40- to 49-year age group was significantly higher than those in the other age groups, while that of serum ICTP tended to increase with age. The mean values of urinary Pyr and D-Pyr were higher in the older groups. In women, the mean values of all bone metabolic markers were all higher among those in the 50–59, 60–69, and 70–79 age groups compared to those in the 40–49 age group. These findings suggest that active bone metabolic turnover occurs even in the older age groups in both men and women.