Chinese researchers have developed a new method that helps detect osteoporosis problems in the body.
A new method for detecting the risk of developing osteoporosis
The journal Frontiers in Endocrinology noted that researchers at China’s Chongqing Medical University have proposed using the total blood alkaline phosphatase enzyme level index as a low-cost method for detecting an increased risk of osteoporosis. Their study results showed that even with “normal” values of the enzyme, slight elevations are significantly more common in people with low bone mineral density.
Researchers analyzed data from 12,835 adults who underwent routine medical examinations between 2019 and 2024. The alkaline phosphatase level was measured for all participants, and participants also underwent bone density scans (DXA) of the spine and femur. Osteoporosis was diagnosed in 9.5% of the people. In this group, the average alkaline phosphatase level was statistically significantly higher than in the others, and this relationship persisted even after taking into account age, sex, body mass index, metabolic indices, and liver enzymes.
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Further analysis showed that the risk of osteoporosis increased more clearly when alkaline phosphatase levels reached approximately 100 IU/L, and the risk was particularly high among women, younger, metabolically healthy participants with normal starter indicators.
The researchers noted that their findings do not prove that elevated alkaline phosphatase levels are necessarily what "causes" bone loss; however, the results suggest that current routine blood tests could become a simple marker for the early detection of people at increased risk of osteoporosis and fractures.
