Association between Serum Oxytocin, Bone Mineral Density and Body Composition in Chinese Adult Females

oleh: Wei-Jia Yu, Hong-Li Shi, Xiao-Qing Wu, Yan-Ping Du, Hui-Lin Li, Wen-Jing Tang, Min-Min Chen, Xue-Mei Zhang, Liu Shen, Qun Cheng

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2022-11-01

Deskripsi

<i>Background and Objectives:</i> Oxytocin (OT) is a neuropeptide hormone which is known for its classical effects in pregnancy and lactation. Recently, growing evidence demonstrated a close relation between OT and bone. The present study aimed to explore the relationship between OT, bone and osteoporosis risk in Chinese adult females. <i>Materials and Methods:</i> in total, 149 adult females were enrolled. The serum OT levels were measured using ELISA kits. Bone mineral density (BMD) and body composition were measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). The study subjects were divided into two groups according to their menopause status and then divided into tertiles based on their serum OT level. <i>Results:</i> Serum OT, serum estradiol and BMD at three skeletal sites were significantly higher in the premenopausal group than in the postmenopausal group (<i>p</i> < 0.001, <i>p</i> = 0.008 and <i>p</i> < 0.001, respectively). In the tertile analysis, relative to tertile 1, significant associations were found for tertile 3 for OT levels and higher BMD in the femoral neck and total hip, in both pre- and postmenopausal groups. Using logistic regression analysis, tertile 3 appeared less likely to have low-BMD osteoporosis than tertile 1 (OR = 0.257, 95% CI = 0.073, 0.910). In multivariate stepwise regression analysis, OT and total lean mass were two positive determinants of BMD in the femoral neck and total hip in the premenopausal group (adjusted R<sup>2</sup> for the model = 0.232 and 0.199, respectively; both <i>p</i> < 0.001). <i>Conclusion:</i> Our study demonstrated positive associations between serum OT levels and BMD in a Chinese (non-Caucasian) population. OT appeared to be more strongly associated with hip BMD in premenopausal females. These results may suggest a protective role and potential therapeutic use of OT in osteoporosis, especially for premenopausal women.