The association of adiposity with parathyroid hormone in healthy older adults

Elevated parathyroid hormone (PTH) is a risk factor for increased morbidity and mortality. PTH levels increase with adiposity in older adults but the basis for this association is unclear. The objective of this study was to examine the association of percent body fat (%Fat) with serum PTH in 307 older men and women and to determine the extent to which it may be explained by vitamin D status, bone turnover, calcium metabolism, and glucose homeostasis. The data are from the baseline visit of a clinical trial of calcium and vitamin D to prevent bone loss. %Fat was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and fasting blood and urine samples were collected. Serum PTH levels increased by about 0.4 pmol/l per 10 unit increase in percent body fat (P = 0.003). The variables that we examined, including plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D and serum osteocalcin, calcium, phosphorus, and insulin explained only a small proportion of this association (18%). Further work is needed to identify the mediators of the higher PTH levels in subjects with greater adiposity. This is important in view of worldwide increases in overweight and obesity and the potential contribution of elevated PTH to morbidity and mortality.