RALEIGH, N.C. — November is National Diabetes Month, and American Bone Health wants people living with diabetes to understand how the disease, and some medicines prescribed to treat the disease, can affect their bone health. With this understanding, people living with diabetes can consult with their health care providers to make a plan to protect their bones from fractures.

American Bone Health recently revised the American Bone Health Fracture Risk Calculator™ to include diabetes among medical conditions that increase a person’s risk of breaking a bone in the next 10 years. The revision to the scientifically validated risk assessment tool comes in response to increasing clinical evidence that diabetes, and some diabetes medicines, can increase fracture risk. Now, using the Fracture Risk Calculator can teach people living with diabetes that having the disease gives them a higher risk of breaking a bone than would be assessed based on their bone mineral density and other risk factors such as age, sex and lifestyle.

People with Type 2 diabetes typically have higher bone density than the general population, due to greater body weight. Although higher bone density is usually associated with lower fracture risk, that is not the case in people with diabetes. Their fracture risk is up to twice that of people without diabetes. Studies of the structural properties of bone show that people with diabetes have up to 10% less bone strength than people without diabetes.

Taking medicines that control blood sugar also can affect the bones. Although some diabetes medicines have neutral or positive effects on the bones, others such as thiazolidinediones (TZDs) can increase risk of fracture. People with diabetes should ask their health care providers whether the medicines they are taking can increase their fracture risk, and how they can manage that risk.

To learn more about how diabetes is associated with increased risk of fractures, read American Bone Health’s article “People with Diabetes Must Manage Their Bone Health.”

“As we have learned more about how diabetes affects the bones, we sought to fill a need to educate people with diabetes about bone health. We want to give them the tools they need to understand their fracture risk, just like they should monitor their insulin and take care of their feet,” said Cheryl Hostinak, executive director of American Bone Health. “Diabetes disproportionately affects people in traditionally underserved populations, so this outreach also gives us an opportunity to reach people who lack knowledge about bone health. American Bone Health wants to encourage people to use the American Bone Health Fracture Risk Calculator™ to understand their risk factors and then make a plan to protect their bones. That plan will include a healthful diet, appropriate physical activity focused on strength and balance, and fall prevention. Our website, AmericanBoneHealth.org, has lots of useful resources. Healthy bones are the foundation of healthy bodies and preventing fractures will help people with diabetes preserve their independence and overall well-being.”

About American Bone Health

American Bone Health is a national, community-based organization that teaches people how to build and keep strong and healthy bones for life with practical and up-to-date information and resources to inspire them to prevent bone loss, osteoporosis and fractures. Learn more at AmericanBoneHealth.org and @ambonehealth.