Serum serotonin levels and bone in rheumatoid arthritis patients.
Miguel BernardesTiago VieiraRaquel LucasJorge PereiraLúcia CostaFrancisco Simões-VenturaMaria João MartinsPublished in: Rheumatology international (2017)
In rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a disease characterized by bone loss, increased levels of serotonin have been reported. Recent studies have demonstrated a role for circulating serotonin as a regulator of osteoblastogenesis, inhibiting bone formation. Thus, we measured serum serotonin levels (SSL) in a Portuguese sample of 205 RA patients and related these to anthropometric variables, disease parameters, serum bone biomarkers, and bone mineral density (BMD) assessed by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry at several sites (total proximal femur, lumbar spine, left hand, and left second proximal phalange). SSL were inversely associated with body mass index (BMI) in RA women (r = - 0.218; p = 0.005), independent of exposure to biologics and/or bisphosphonates. Among biologic naïves, there was an inverse association between SSL and osteoprotegerin in RA women (r = - 0.260; p = 0.022). Serum β-CTX and dickkopf-1 were strongly associated with SSL in RA men not treated with bisphosphonates (r = 0.590; p < 0.001/r = 0.387; p = 0.031, respectively). There was also an inverse association between SSL and sclerostin in RA men (r = - 0.374; p < 0.05), stronger among biologic naïve or bisphosphonates-unexposed RA men. In crude models, SSL presented as a significant negative predictor of total proximal femur BMD in RA women as well as in postmenopausal RA women. After adjustment for BMI, disease duration, and years of menopause, SSL remained a significant negative predictor of total proximal femur BMD only in postmenopausal RA women. Our data reinforce a role, despite weak, for circulating serotonin in regulating bone mass in RA patients, with some differences in terms of gender and anatomical sites.
Keyphrases
- rheumatoid arthritis
- bone mineral density
- disease activity
- postmenopausal women
- body composition
- rheumatoid arthritis patients
- body mass index
- ankylosing spondylitis
- polycystic ovary syndrome
- interstitial lung disease
- bone loss
- systemic lupus erythematosus
- dual energy
- pregnancy outcomes
- magnetic resonance imaging
- cervical cancer screening
- insulin resistance
- inflammatory response
- signaling pathway
- type diabetes
- adipose tissue
- electronic health record
- ejection fraction
- prognostic factors
- physical activity
- high resolution
- drug induced