WEDNESDAY, May 2 (HealthDay News) -- Bone loss occurs early in patients with cystic fibrosis and may be independent of disease severity or nutritional status, according to a report in the May issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
Isabelle Sermet-Gaudelus, M.D., Ph.D., of Hopital Necker-Enfants Malades in Paris, France, and colleagues measured bone mineral density of the lumbar spine in children with cystic fibrosis, including 25 younger than 6 years, 53 children aged 6 to 10 years and 36 adolescents aged 11 to 18 years, to see how certain factors, including nutritional status or disease severity, affects bone loss.
The investigators found defective bone mineralization occurs very early in the disease as the youngest group already showed low bone mineral density compared with normal values. The researchers believe the results indicate a primary defect in bone mineralization in cystic fibrosis that can be aggravated by other factors including low fat-free mass, poor nutritional status and low vitamin D levels.
"We recommend that all children with cystic fibrosis undergo assessment of bone mineral density and body composition early in life to make it possible to target those who need preventive treatment," the authors write. "Efforts to obtain and maintain normal bone status in these children must begin early in childhood."
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