Low bone mineral density and the severity of cholestasis in biliary atresia

Table 1 Demographic data and laboratory parameters of biliary atresia patients based on status of jaundice

BA patients	Total	Jaundice	No jaundice	P-value
n	70	28	42
Gender (male/female)	30:40	12:16	18:24	0.5
Age (yr)	7.6 ± 0.5	6.3 ± 0.8	8.6 ± 0.6	0.01
Albumin (g/dL)	3.9 ± 0.1	3.2 ± 0.3	4.3 ± 0.1	< 0.001
Total bilirubin (mg/dL)	3.8 ± 0.7	8.2 ± 1.5	0.9 ± 0.1	< 0.001
Direct bilirubin (mg/dL)	2.5 ± 0.6	5.8 ± 1.1	0.2 ± 0.1	< 0.001
AST (IU/L)	148.8 ± 13.7	235.9 ± 20.9	90.8 ± 11.3	< 0.001
ALT (IU/L)	133.3 ± 12.8	183.4 ± 18.4	99.8 ± 15.7	0.001
ALP (IU/L)	501.7 ± 36.3	681.6 ± 46.3	381.8 ± 43.3	< 0.001
25(OH)D (ng/mL)	25.3 ± 1.1	16.0 ± 1.8	30.1 ± 0.7	< 0.001
Lumbar BMD (g/cm2)	0.5 ± 0.0	0.4 ± 0.0	0.6 ± 0.0	< 0.001
Lumbar BMD Z-score	-1.2 ± 0.2	-2.3 ± 0.2	-0.4 ± 0.1	< 0.001

Data are expressed as mean and SEM. ALP: Alkaline phosphatase; ALT: Alanine aminotransferase; AST: Aspartate aminotransferase; BA: Biliary atresia; BMD: Bone mineral density; 25(OH)D: 25-hydroxyvitamin D.

Table 2 Comparison of clinical characteristics and laboratory parameters among biliary atresia patients with normal, osteopenic, and osteoporotic bone mineral density Z-scores at the lumbar spine

Characteristics	Normal	Osteopenia	Osteoporosis	P-value
n	34	18	18
Gender (male/female)	15/19	7/11	8/10	0.3
Age (yr)	8.2 ± 0.7	7.7 ± 1.1	6.5 ± 1.0	0.4
Albumin (g/dL)	4.1 ± 0.2	4.0 ± 0.1	3.3 ± 0.2	< 0.05
Total bilirubin (mg/dL)	1.0 ± 0.2	2.8 ± 0.7	10.0 ± 2.1	< 0.001
Direct bilirubin (mg/dL)	0.4 ± 0.1	1.6 ± 0.5	7.3 ± 1.7	< 0.001
AST (IU/L)	95.6 ± 13.7	177.1 ± 24.8	221.2 ± 31.2	< 0.001
ALT (IU/L)	104.2 ± 18.2	164.6 ± 23.7	156.8 ± 25.1	< 0.001
ALP (IU/L)	429.1 ± 55.7	538.4 ± 55.2	602.3 ± 71.3	0.08
25(OH)D (ng/mL)	33.2 ± 0.7	26.3 ± 0.5	14.3 ± 1.5	< 0.01
Lumbar BMD (g/cm2)	0.6 ± 0.0	0.5 ± 0.0	0.4 ± 0.0	< 0.001

Data are expressed as mean and SEM. ALP: Alkaline phosphatase; ALT: Alanine aminotransferase; AST: Aspartate aminotransferase; BA: Biliary atresia; BMD: Bone mineral density; 25(OH)D: 25-hydroxyvitamin D.