Association between Inflammatory Biomarkers and Bone Mineral Density in a Community-based Cohort of Men and Women: The Framingham Osteoporosis Study

OBJECTIVE Based upon evidence in animal and in-vitro studies, we tested the hypothesis that higher serum concentrations of the cytokines interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and the inflammatory marker C-reactive protein (CRP) would be inversely associated with BMD in a community-based cohort of men and women, with the strongest associations among post-menopausal women not using menopausal hormone therapy (MHT).