Background
Chronic atrophic gastritis causes hypochlorhydria, hypergastrinemia, and malabsorption of nutrients, leading to lower bone mineral density. The few studies that investigated the association between chronic atrophic gastritis and bone mineral density have reported inconsistent findings. As such, the present study assessed the association between chronic atrophic gastritis and bone mineral density among a large sample of women >40 years of age in Korea.
Methods
Data from 8,748 women >40 years of age who underwent esophagogastroduodenoscopy and bone densitometry were analyzed. Chronic atrophic gastritis was diagnosed using esophagogastroduodenoscopy. Bone mineral density of the lumbar vertebrae (L), femur neck, and femur total, measured using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, were the primary outcome variables. Low bone mineral density, which could be diagnosed as osteoporosis or osteopenia, was defined and analyzed as a secondary outcome. Linear regression was used to calculate adjusted mean values of bone mineral density. The association between low bone mineral density and chronic atrophic gastritis was analyzed using multiple logistic regression.
Results
The adjusted mean bone mineral density for L1–L4 was 1.063±0.003, femur neck (0.826±0.002), and femur total (0.890±0.002) were significantly lower in patients with chronic atrophic gastritis than others (1.073±0.002, 0.836±0.001, 0.898±0.002, respectively; all P<0.01). Women with chronic atrophic gastritis exhibited an increased likelihood for osteopenia or osteoporosis, even after adjusting for age and other confounding factors (odds ratio, 1.25; 95% confidence interval, 1.13–1.40; P<0.01). However, subgroup analysis revealed statistical significance only in postmenopausal women (odds ratio, 1.27; P<0.001).
Conclusion
Chronic atrophic gastritis was associated with lower bone mineral density and a higher risk for osteopenia or osteoporosis among postmenopausal women.

Citations

• Association between gastric polyps and decreased bone mineral density in patients with chronic gastritis
  Guotao Liu, Jianyuan Zhang
  Scientific Reports.2025;[Epub]     CrossRef
• Clinical Utility of Trabecular Bone Score in Gastroenterology: A Narrative Review
  Ivna Olic, Piero Marin Zivkovic, Ivana Tadin Hadjina, Ivan Zaja
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• The Interconnected Nature of Smoking, Depression, and Obesity in Behavioral Medicine
  Joung Sik Son
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