An Evaluation of Vitamin D and Bone Turnover Markers Levels in Postmenopausal Women in Albania

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Vitamin D is a lipophilic prohormone that is synthesized in the skin in response to sunlight, although diet may be a source of much lower amounts of Vitamin D. Receptors of the active form of Vitamin D (VDR), have been identified in the cells of the intestinal epithelium, renal tubules, bone and other tissues and organs, which indicates a broad spectrum of 25(OH)D3 (Miyahara 2002, Woeckel 2010). Besides its role in intestinal calcium absorption, calcitriol may also affect bone health directly, as its receptors are expressed by osteoblasts (Chen et al. 2016). The consequences of vitamin D deficiency are secondary hyperparathyroidism and bone loss, leading to osteoporosis and fractures, mineralization defects, which may lead to osteomalacia in the long term, and muscle weakness, causing falls and fractures (Matsumoto 2011). Therefore, we aimed to investigate the association between serum levels of 25(OH)D and bone turnover markers in postmenopausal women, and their impact on osteoporosis. In this two – years study (2020-2022), we described the epidemiology of vitamin D status across women population in Albania and its potential associations with bone biomarkers (OC, PTH, ALP). Our study showed a clear seasonal variation of bone turnover markers and a negative Pearson correlation between serum 25(OH)D and osteocalcin (OC) (r= -0.37, p<0.05). Osteoporosis leads to decreased hydroxyapatite crystal formation and hence results in increase in serum osteocalcin levels (Matsumoto 2011, Tilyard 1992). We found reduced 25(OH)D concentrations in postmenopausal women (21.71 ng/mL) and showed that a deficient 25(OH)D concentration is associated with significantly increased markers of bone resorption and decreased bone mineral density (BMD) values. Keywords: 25-Hydroxyvitamin D, osteocalcin, bone biomarkers, bone density

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