Osteoporosis Linked to Colorectal Adenoma in Women

Osteoporosis is associated with an increased risk of colorectal adenoma in women older than 50 years of age, according to a new study.

Researchers at Kyung Hee University (Seoul, Korea) conducted a retrospective cross-sectional study involving 992 women (50 years of age or older) between January 2007 and May 2011. Women eligible for the study underwent dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry for bone mineral density and screening colonoscopy during a routine health checkup. The researchers then performed multivariate analysis adjusted for age, family history of colorectal cancer, alcohol consumption, current smoking, regular aspirin use, exercise, menopause, and postmenopausal hormone use to identify independent predictors for the presence of colorectal adenoma.

The results were derived from 462 women who were found eligible for inclusion in the study; 231 were assigned to an osteoporosis group, and a further 231 to the control group, after menopause matching. In univariate analysis, the proportion of colorectal adenoma was significantly higher in the osteoporosis group than in the control group (29.9% versus 20.8%, respectively). Furthermore, osteoporosis was found to be an independent risk factor for the presence of colorectal adenoma. The study was published in the February 2013 issue of Diseases of the Colon and Rectum.

“Recently, it was reported that postmenopausal women with lower bone mineral density have an increased risk of colorectal cancer,” concluded lead author Jun Uk Lim, MD, and colleagues of the department of internal medicine. “An association between lower bone mineral density and colorectal cancer suggests that colorectal adenoma, which is a precursor of colorectal cancer, may also be associated with lower bone mineral density.”

Colorectal adenomas are benign tumors that develop from epithelial tissue. Most colorectal cancer develops from adenomatous polyps, and are in turn termed adenocarcinomas. Colonoscopy screening helps identify and remove adenomas before they become a problem, since the bigger the adenoma, the greater its chances of being cancerous; for example, an adenoma, which is 15 mm in diameter has a 30%–50% chance to turn cancerous.

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