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Lower Leg Arterial Calcifications Assessed by High-Resolution Peripheral Quantitative Computed Tomography in Hypoparathyroid and Pseudohypoparathyroid Patients

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Abstract

Hypoparathyroidism (HypoPT) and pseudohypoparathyroidism (PHP) are diseases with abnormal calcium and phosphate homeostasis and low and high PTH levels, respectively. It has been hypothesized that this could dispose to vascular calcifications and thereby perhaps also cardiovascular morbidity. The aim of this study was to assess lower leg arterial calcifications (LLAC) in patients with HypoPT or PHP. Using a cross-sectional design, we measured the LLAC using a high-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (HR-pQCT) scanner in 72 patients with HypoPT and 25 patients with PHP and compared them with findings in 61 controls. LLAC were found in only two (3%) of the controls. Compared to the controls, LLAC were significantly more prevalent in patients with HypoPT (N = 12, [17%], p < 0.01) and PHP (N = 4, [16%], p < 0.04). Compared to the patients without calcifications, patients with calcifications had higher plasma calcium levels and a lower eGFR, as well as they were older and more often males. Plasma phosphate levels and the calcium-phosphate product were not associated with LLAC. In conclusion, we found that HypoPT and PHP are associated with an increased prevalence of vascular calcifications.

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Acknowledgement

We would like to thank laboratory technician Ditte Viborg Kofod for her skilled help in using the methods in our laboratory.

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  1. Department of Endocrinology and Internal Medicine, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark

    Catharina Vind Nielsen, Line Underbjerg, Diana Grove-Laugesen, Tanja Sikjaer & Lars Rejnmark

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Correspondence to Catharina Vind Nielsen.

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Catharina Vind Nielsen, Line Underbjerg, Diana Grove‑Laugesen, Tanja Sikjaer and Lars Rejnmark declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

The study was conducted in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. As this was a historic study based on previous collected data, allowance to use data from patient charts was granted by the Danish Health and Medicines Authority.

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Nielsen, C.V., Underbjerg, L., Grove-Laugesen, D. et al. Lower Leg Arterial Calcifications Assessed by High-Resolution Peripheral Quantitative Computed Tomography in Hypoparathyroid and Pseudohypoparathyroid Patients. Calcif Tissue Int 108, 775–784 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00223-021-00814-7

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