Hypercalcemia as a marker of decreased bone mineral density in patients with peptic ulcer disease

Purpose of the study. To study calcium-phosphorus metabolism in patients with peptic ulcer (PU) in comparison with bone mineral density (BMD), its age and gender aspects. Materials and methods. 216 people with ulcer were in remission and 154 people without ulcer history and erosive-ulcerative changes during fibrogastroduodenoscopy (FGDS) were examined. All patients underwent clinical and endoscopic studies, dichromatic X-ray densitometry with the calculation of the T-test of the femoral neck (FN) and the lumbar spine (LS). Calcium and blood phosphorus have been studied. Results. In patients with PU compared with patients without this pathology there was a significant decrease of BMD. In 32% of patients with PU osteoporosis (OP) was diagnosed and in 34% of patients - osteopenia. In the group of persons who had no PU osteoporosis was found in 18%, osteopenia in 26% of cases. In both groups women prevailed. Blood calcium was significantly higher in patients with PU as compared to those examined without an ulcer history. A significant increase of calcium was observed in individuals with a comorbid course of PU and OP. Conclusion. The data obtained show that the study of blood calcium can serve as a simple criterion for diagnosing disorders of BMD and, if its values are high, conduct a more detailed examination of patients with PU for early detection of OP and the possibility of its treatment.