How Hormones Affect Bone Health in Women

Ever wondered how hormones like sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) and bioavailable testosterone (BioT) impact women’s bone health? A study explored this using a unique method called Mendelian randomization (MR), focusing solely on women. The MR study took a close look at forearm fractures (FAFx) in over 111, 000 women from European biobanks. They found that high levels of SHBG and low levels of BioT and total testosterone (TT) put women at greater risk for forearm fractures. Interestingly, high BioT levels and low SHBG levels seemed to protect bone density in the forearm, as well as in the femoral neck and lumbar spine. This suggests that these hormones play a significant role in women's bone health, especially in areas like the forearm that have a lot of small bone structures (trabecular bone). Understanding these relationships could help predict and prevent fractures in women.