Skip Navigation

	DLS Home
	Programs & Research
	DLS Branches
	Publications & Products
	Training Opportunities
	Employment
	Contact Us

	Cholesterol/Lipids
	Diabetes
	Genetics
	Hormone Standardization
	Laboratory Quality Assurance Programs
	Lead
	Micronutrients
	National Biomonitoring Program
	Newborn Screening
	Osteoporosis
	Responding to Chemical Terrorism
	Studies, Investigations & Emergencies
	Tobacco/Smoking

	National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals
	National Report on Biochemical Indicators of Diet and Nutrition
	Newborn Screening Laboratory Bulletin
	DLS Brochure

OSTEOPOROSIS

Improving the Clinical Use of Biochemical Bone Marker in Metabolic Bone Diseases

In 2000, ten percent of adults in the United States aged 50 years or older had osteoporosis. In 2002, direct care expenditures for osteoporotic fractures alone were estimated to $12 - $18 billion annually. The incidence of osteoporosis is expected to increase significantly in the next few years because people are living longer and the U.S. population is aging. Bone markers provide a powerful tool for investigating factors affecting bone development and monitoring efficacy of treatment; however, a lack of reference materials and inconsistencies in sample-collection procedures and sample handling makes it difficult to compare bone-marker data across laboratories. Little information is available about the use of these markers in clinical practice, and such problems hamper broad use of these markers by clinical and research communities.

In 1997, scientists at CDC began a program to improve the measurement of the bone resorption markers pyridinoline and deoxypyridoline by conducting these activities:

1. Developed reference materials and methods to establish an accuracy base and to transfer the accuracy base to clinical laboratories.
2. Assessed current variability in measurements through an interlaboratory comparison study.
3. Transferred knowledge and experience gained in the program to clinical community:
   • Developed guidelines with an ad-hoc international expert working group for sample collection procedures and sample handling
   • Provided technical consultation to the International Federation of Clinical Chemists (IFCC) Working Group on Markers for Bone Turnover and Bone Disease
   • Developed NCCLS guideline "Application of Biochemical Markers of Bone Turnover in the Assessment and Monitoring of Bone Diseases" to improve the utility of commercially available bone marker assays (*Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute).
   • Disseminated information and findings about bone markers to the clinical community through lectures, presentations and publications.

Increased awareness about these new tools in combination with guidelines and improved, reliable bone-marker measurements will help clinicians use this technology more readily and allow them to better manage patients with bone disease.

CDC will continue its work in translating research findings in the area of biochemical bone marker measurements into information suitable for clinical practice and will provide secondary reference materials to laboratories and manufacturers to harmonize clinical measurements.

For More Information...

CDC Resources

• Bone Health Campaign
  National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP)
• Bone Health Topics A-Z
  Office of Women's Health

U.S. Federal Government Resources

• Bone Health and Osteoporosis
  Surgeon General's Report (2004)

Non-Federal Resources

• Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute