High prevalence of vertebral fractures associated with preoperative cortisol levels in patients with recent diagnosis of Cushing disease.

Background/objective: Morphometric vertebral fractures (VFs) and osteopathy are prevalent and clinically significant complications of Cushing disease (CD). However whether they represent an early occurrence in the natural progression of the disease is an ongoing debate. This study aimed to assess the prevalence and determinants of VFs in patients newly diagnosed with CD.

Patients And Methods: This cross-sectional case-control study recruited 75 newly diagnosed CD patients and compared them with a control group of individuals without pituitary disorders or secondary forms of osteoporosis. Demographic, clinical and biochemical data were collected. The VFs were assessed using preoperative lateral chest radiography.

Results: We found a significantly higher prevalence of VFs in the CD group than in the control group (58.7% vs. 14.5%;  < 0.001). Among the CD patients with VFs, 27 (61.4%) showed moderate/severe VFs. The CD patients with VFs had significantly higher preoperative 8 am serum cortisol (8ASC) levels than those without VFs ( < 0.001). The preoperative 4 pm adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) levels ( = 0.031), preoperative 0 am ACTH levels ( = 0.021) and systolic blood pressure were slightly higher in CD patients with VFs than in those without VFs ( = 0.028). A binary multiple logistic analysis showed that 8ASC was an independent predictor of VF risk ( = 0.003). The optimal cut-off value of the preoperative serum 8ASC level for predicting VFs was 22.18 ng/mL.

Conclusions: This is the first study reporting a high prevalence of radiologic VFs in recently diagnosed CD patients. VFs may represent an early manifestation of CD and may be related to cortisol levels. Therefore, VF assessment should be included in the workup during CD diagnosis.