According to researchers, the people with gout face a modestly high risk (of about 20%) for instigating osteoporosis as compared to people without gout. The serum osteocalcin (OC) level plays an important part to determine the bone turnover. The clinicians should keep osteoporosis in mind in patients with gout.

To identify the association of gout with osteoporosis and serum osteocalcin (OC).

A total of 55 controls and 75 patients involved in the analysis. Medications linked with osteoporosis and Comorbid conditions were eliminated. Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) was used to measure the femur (trochanter, neck, ward, total) and T and Z scores from lumbar spine (L2–L4). Further, the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was implemented to measure the OC levels. 

The participants with gout exhibited considerably higher osteoporosis than controls, according to T scores of lumbar vertebrae L2–L4. Gout patients showed −1.6 and 7.9 ng/mL lumbar spine T-score and OC level as compared to −1.0 and 18.9 ng/mL in controls, respectively. A notable difference was found among the groups. Also, the patients diagnosed with osteoporosis showed 12.4 ± 6.9 ng/mL mean OC level as compared to 17.2 ± 10.6 ng/mL by the patients that were classified as normal with a significant difference among the two groups. The OC level exhibited a considerable negative association with age, age at first attack and body mass index. Likewise, femoral T-score showed a negative relationship with age, age at first attack, allopurinol dose, and parathyroid hormone.

In the evaluation of bone turnover, serum OC level emerges as a useful marker and clinicians should keep osteoporosis into consideration in gout patients.