Voluntary Chronic Heavy Alcohol Consumption in Male Rhesus Macaques Suppresses Cancellous Bone Formation and Increases Bone Marrow Adiposity

BackgroundChronic heavy alcohol consumption is an established risk factor for bone fracture, but comorbidities associated with alcohol intake may contribute to increased fracture rates in alcohol abusers. To address the specific effects of alcohol on bone, we used a nonhuman primate model and evaluated voluntary alcohol consumption on: (i) global markers of bone turnover in blood and (ii) cancellous bone mass, density, microarchitecture, turnover, and microdamage in lumbar vertebra.MethodsFollowing a 4‐month induction period, 6‐year‐old male rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta, n = 13) voluntarily self‐administered water or ethanol (EtOH; 4% w/v) for 22 h/d, 7 d/wk, for a total of 12 months. Control animals (n = 9) consumed an isocaloric maltose–dextrin solution. Tetracycline hydrochloride was administered orally 17 and 3 days prior to sacrifice to label mineralizing bone surfaces. Global skeletal response to EtOH was evaluated by measuring plasma osteocalcin and carboxyterminal collagen cross‐links (CTX). Local response was evaluated in lumbar vertebra using dual‐energy X‐ray absorptiometry, microcomputed tomography, static and dynamic histomorphometry, and histological assessment of