Damage to the liver caused by alcohol and fatty foods could be triggering life–threatening brittle bone disease in men, a new study has found.
Canadian researchers found that a protein created in the liver is crucial for healthy bone growth in men.
Liver disease, the McGill University scientists concluded, disrupts the production of this protein, triggering osteopenia and osteoporosis, bone diseases that raise the risk of serious fractures.
However, this negative effect is not thought to impact women, whose bones are less reliant on the protein, called plasma fibronectin.
The findings are significant because studies suggest that around one in three adults in the UK have some form of liver disease – the majority of whom are undiagnosed.
The condition is often triggered by excessive alcohol consumption. However, many sufferers have a version called fatty liver disease, caused by obesity and poor diet.
Previous research has shown that people who consume high levels of fast food are significantly more likely to develop liver disease.
The researchers involved in the new study argue that liver disease could be one of the leading causes of osteopenia and osteoporosis in men.
New research suggests the liver plays a previously unrecognised role in men’s bone health
Osteopenia occurs when bones become brittle. The condition has become more well–known in recent years, thanks in part to celebrities like Blue Peter presenter Anthea Turner being vocal about having it.
Unlike in its later stages, which can be managed only with medication, the condition can be reversed with lifestyle changes, like regular exercise, quitting smoking, and cutting down on alcohol.
However, left untreated, osteopenia can lead to osteoporosis, a more advanced and severe version of the disease that can cause life–changing bone breaks.
Some 40 per cent of over–50s in Britain are estimated to have osteopenia. Most of these are women, because a reduction in oestrogen during the menopause can weaken bones.
But more men than ever are developing the disease, according to experts, and most don’t know they have it.
‘About 60 per cent of osteoporosis cases in men are secondary to other underlying health conditions,’ said Mari Tuulia Kaartinen, senior author and associate professor in McGill’s Faculty of Dental Medicine and Oral Health Sciences.
‘Our findings suggest this protein may be one of the biological links connecting liver disease to bone loss.’
Around 12,000 people die of liver disease every year in the UK. The condition occurs when damage to the organ – crucial for filtering out toxins – stops working.
In its early stages, it can be reversed through diet and lifestyle changes. But, once it progresses, it becomes untreatable.
Around four in five adults living with liver disease are unaware they have the condition.
Osteoporosis, meanwhile, has traditionally been viewed as a disease driven by ageing and processes within the bone itself.
More than three million Britons have osteoporosis, where fragile bones sharply increase the chances of serious, even life–threatening fractures.
At least one in three women and one in five men will break a bone due to osteoporosis in their lifetime.
‘We know women lose bone mass largely because of hormonal changes at menopause, but men lose bone too, especially after age 50, but the reasons have been less understood,’ said Kaartinen.
In lab experiments, the researchers selectively turned off the fibronectin gene in the liver of mice, preventing the protein from being released into the bloodstream.
Only male mice were less able to build strong bone when the protein was missing.
‘This is another example of how diseases can develop differently between the sexes,’ said Kaartinen.
‘Better accounting for biological differences in medical research is essential for developing more precise approaches to prevention and care.’
The findings add to a growing awareness of osteoporosis as a whole–body condition rather than one that originates in bone alone.
