Serum Insulin-like Growth Factor-1 and Growth Hormone as Potential Diagnostic Biomarkers for Postmenopausal Osteoporosis Among Chinese Women

Postmenopausal osteoporosis (PMOP) is a significant concern among females. The gold standard for diagnosis involves dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scans to measure bone mineral density (BMD). However, DEXA becomes impractical when the scanner is unavailable. This study included 345 postmenopausal women aged 45-70 years. All participants underwent DEXA scans and had IGF-1, and GH levels measured. Based on t-scores, subjects were categorized into three groups: control (n = 99), osteopenia (n = 153), and osteoporosis (n = 93). ANOVA assessed IGF-1 and GH across groups. Statistical analyses explored correlations between IGF-1, GH, and other parameters. The diagnostic utility of IGF-1 and GH was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Significant intergroup differences were observed for IGF-1 and GH. IGF-1 exhibited negative correlations with age, menopause duration, procollagen 1 Intact N-Terminal pro peptide (PⅠNP), and parathyroid hormone (PTH), while positively correlating with body mass index (BMI), estradiol (E2), GH, BMD, and t-scores. GH showed negative correlations with age, menopause duration, BMI, and PTH, and positive correlations with E2, IGF-1, BMD, and t-scores. ROC analysis indicated high accuracy, specificity, and sensitivity of IGF-1 cutoff values in distinguishing the control group from those with bone mineral deficiency. However, these results were not replicated for GH. Serum IGF-1 measurement holds promise for screening postmenopausal patients. Subsequent DEXA scanning should be considered for severity grading of osteoporosis if indicated. In contrast, GH proved inadequate for diagnosing postmenopausal osteoporosis. In conclusion, serum IGF-1 levels offer a promising screening tool for low bone mass conditions in postmenopausal women, particularly in settings without access to DEXA scanners. Severity grading using DEXA could be facilitated with IGF-1 levels under the cutoff point. In contrast, GH lacks diagnostic potential for PMOP. This study advances the identification of novel serum markers for the diagnosis of clinical postmenopausal osteopenia/osteoporosis.