To evaluate the variations of serum OPG, TGF-β and IL-6 levels with bone loss in postmenopausal women with or without type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), to elucidate the role of serum OPG, TGF-β and IL-6 levels in prediction for 10-year probability of fracture risk, and to explore the impact of serum OPG, TGF-β and IL-6 levels on the progression of type 2 diabetic fracture.

This study included 128 postmenopausal women who were diagnosed as osteopenia (areal bone mineral density at spine and hip of all subjects were measured by DXA, patients with T score more than -2.5 and less than -1.0 were diagnosed as osteopenea). They were divided into two groups, T2DM group and non-T2DM group. Besides of BMD, all subjects were measured the serum levels of OPG, TGF-β and IL-6. Furthermore, we predicted the 10-year probability of fracture risk in all cohorts by FRAX? and analyzed the correlations of the risk with serum levels of OPG, TGF-β and IL-6 in all subjects.

There were no significant differences of BMD between the two groups (Z=0.841, P>0.05). However, the serum levels of OPG (Z=2.264, P=0.024), TGF-β (Z=2.836, P=0.005) and IL-6 (Z=2.431, P=0.015) in T2DM group were higher than that in non-T2DM group. Furthermore, the serum levels of OPG, TGF-β and IL-6 were correlated with the 10-year probability of fracture risk in T2DM group.

The serum levels of OPG, TGF-β and IL-6 increased in osteopenia patients with T2DM, suggesting that the increased inflammatory factors could be used as predictors for the 10-year probability of fracture risk in osteopenia patients with T2DM.