Objective: To assess the correlation between bone mineral density and blood biochemical bone turnover markers, procollagen type I N-terminal propeptide (PINP) and C-terminal cross-linked telopeptide of type I collagen (CTX) in women.

Material and Method: This study was a cross-sectional survey in 41 women living in Thapho District, Phitsanulok Province who had never been diagnosed with osteoporosis at the Allied Health Promotion Center, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, Naresuan University. Quantitative ultrasound (QUS) of the calcaneus was performed on each woman and the results were expressed in terms of a stiffness index (SI), which was used as a measure of bone mineral density. The blood biochemical bone turnover markers, PINP and CTX, were measured by electrochemiluminescence immunoassay.

Results: The obtained results revealed that the SI decreased with increasing age (r=-0.798, p<0.0001). The menopausal group had a lower SI than that of the pre-menopausal group (p=0.011). Trend to be negative correlations between SI with PINP (r=-0.392, p<0.05) and with CTX (r=-0.398, p<0.05) were also observed.

Conclusion: The findings suggest that the use of the PINP and CTX in combination with SI determined by QUS may be used to evaluate the bone turnover rate in aging women. However, a further study containing a large number of women is needed to confirm our findings.