Cited by 181Bone health and osteoporosis researchBone Metabolism and DiseasesPituitary Gland Disorders and Treatments

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 669 of the 669 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; 2 of the 135 sources its claims cite were checked for support.

Pituitary Diseases and Bone

Open access

Abstract

Neuroendocrinology of bone is a new area of research based on the evidence that pituitary hormones may directly modulate bone remodeling and metabolism. Skeletal fragility associated with high risk of fractures is a common complication of several pituitary diseases such as hypopituitarism, Cushing disease, acromegaly, and hyperprolactinemia. As in other forms of secondary osteoporosis, pituitary diseases generally affect bone quality more than bone quantity, and fractures may occur even in the presence of normal or low-normal bone mineral density as measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, making difficult the prediction of fractures in these clinical settings. Treatment of pituitary hormone excess and deficiency generally improves skeletal health, although some patients remain at high risk of fractures, and treatment with bone-active drugs may become mandatory. The aim of this review is to discuss the physiological, pathophysiological, and clinical insights of bone involvement in pituitary diseases.

Overview

AI snapshot

Written from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

Pituitary hormone excess or deficiency commonly causes skeletal fragility, often with fractures despite normal or low-normal bone mineral density by DXA. This narrative review synthesizes mechanisms and clinical evidence across acromegaly, prolactinoma, Cushing disease, TSH-oma, and hypopituitarism, emphasizing morphometric vertebral assessment and the limits of BMD for fracture prediction.

Key findings

  • Vertebral fractures are a frequent complication of pituitary diseases; DXA does not reliably predict fracture risk, and morphometric vertebral assessment is currently the mainstay for skeletal evaluation.
  • In acromegaly, the overall median prevalence of vertebral fractures is ~40%, with fracture risk threefold to eightfold higher than controls; a prospective study found incident vertebral fractures in 42% of patients over 3 years, related to active disease and duration.
  • In prolactinoma, radiological vertebral fractures occurred in 32.6% of women (25/78) and 37.5% of men; 80% of male patients had osteopenia or osteoporosis at the lumbar spine, whereas only 30% had low femoral neck BMD.
  • In Cushing disease, DXA osteoporosis prevalence is 28% to 50%, fracture prevalence 15% to 50%, and morphometric vertebral fracture prevalence 78%; in growth hormone deficiency, fracture risk is twofold to fivefold higher, more than 60% of adults had vertebral fractures in one study, and after 6 years untreated GHD had a sevenfold higher risk of vertebral fractures than treated GHD.

Methods

  • Narrative review of physiological, pathophysiological, and clinical literature on bone involvement in pituitary diseases, including hypopituitarism, Cushing disease, acromegaly, and hyperprolactinemia.
  • Synthesizes experimental, observational, cross-sectional, prospective, and meta-analytic evidence; includes tables of studies evaluating fragility fractures and bone structure in acromegaly, prolactinoma, Cushing disease, and hypopituitarism.
  • No new primary patient data or systematic review methodology are reported.

Limitations

  • Stated: no specific guidelines have been published on monitoring skeletal health in pituitary diseases, so monitoring cannot be evidence based; no randomized controlled trials evaluate rhGH effects on fracture risk; no studies have tested antiosteoporotic drugs in acromegaly; clinical relevance of IGFBP skeletal effects and FSH effects in humans remains unclear.
  • Evident from the text: as a narrative review, it does not use a systematic search or formal meta-analysis, and many cited fracture studies are cross-sectional or retrospective, with heterogeneous designs and endpoints.
  • Evident from the text: DXA limitations are repeatedly noted, including inability to capture bone quality, microstructure, and compartment-specific changes, which affects fracture prediction in these populations.

Model-written summary. Check it against the paper before relying on it.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1210/er.2018-00005

Cites

669 of 669 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Nothing to recompute.

Verification

Claims the paper makes

2 of 135 cited sources checked · 2 supported · 0 flagged

Show all 154 claims

  • It may state two separate claims as one. 76
  • Probably not a substantial claim. 11
  • The quote only partly states this claim. 2
86 of 86
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Skeletal fragility associated with high risk of fractures is a common complication of hypopituitarism, Cushing disease, acromegaly, and hyperprolactinemia.

    “Skeletal fragility associated with high risk of fractures is a common complication of several pituitary diseases such as hypopituitarism, Cushing disease, acromegaly, and hyperprolactinemia.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The control groups in the cited studies are appropriate comparators for patients with pituitary disease.

    “as compared with control subjects”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The fracture definitions used in the cited studies accurately identify fragility fractures.

    “radiological VFs were found”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Bisphosphonates inhibit bone resorption.

    “Bisphosphonates inhibit bone resorption and are the most commonly prescribed drugs for the treatment of osteoporosis.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Bisphosphonates may potentially delay the recovery of bone remodeling after resolution of endogenous hypercortisolism.

    “In fact, it should be considered that bisphosphonates may potentially delay the recovery of bone remodeling after resolution of endogenous hypercortisolism.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Pituitary diseases are burdened by relevant osteometabolic derangements.

    “Pituitary diseases are burdened by relevant osteometabolic derangements.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    For mainly economic reasons, substitution with rhGH has become progressively less popular in our health systems and among endocrinologists.

    “For mainly economic reasons the substitution with rhGH has become progressively less popular in our health systems and among endocrinologists.”
7 of 7

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

Each contradiction between two passages listed here was confirmed by an independent check.

  • Four GHD drug studies are called alendronate studies, but one used pamidronate

    Minor

    Of the four GHD studies discussed immediately afterward and listed in Table 5, the Valk study used pamidronate rather than alendronate.

  • The same PRL model is described as having both unchanged and decreased BMD

    Minor

    The description of the experimental model first says BMD was not altered, then refers to a decrease in BMD in that model.

2 of 2

Citations

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Metadata

Authors
Mazziotti, G., Frara, S., & Giustina, A.
Affiliations
  • Azienda Ospedaliera Carlo Poma (IT)
  • Vita-Salute San Raffaele University (IT)
Corresponding author
Giustina, Andrea
Venue
Endocrine Reviews
Published
2018-04-19
Volume
39
Issue
4
Pages
440-488
ISSN
  • 0163-769X (ISSN-L)
  • 1945-7189
OpenAlex
W2802757031
Cited by
181
References
648
Citations by year
2026: 13 · 2025: 20 · 2024: 31 · 2023: 20 · 2022: 21 · 2021: 26 · 2020: 23 · 2019: 18 · 2018: 6
FWCI
17.73
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Endocrine Reviews (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Archivio Istituzionale della Ricerca - Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • Pfizer
  • Astellas Pharma
  • Ipsen
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Orthopedics and Sports Medicine › Bone health and osteoporosis research
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Bone Metabolism and Diseases
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism › Pituitary Gland Disorders and Treatments
Keywords
pituitary disorders, bone, bone remodeling, bone metabolism, hypopituitarism, Cushing's disease, acromegaly, hyperprolactinemia, secondary osteoporosis, fracture risk, bone mineral density, bone quality
MeSH terms
Animals, Humans, Osteoporosis, Pituitary Diseases, Fractures, Bone

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Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

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