It is generally accepted that bone formation is depressed during corticosteroid treatment, but the effects of glucocorticoids on bone resorption are less well characterized. We have investigated the effects of short-term treatment with high-dose oral glucocorticoids on biochemical markers of bone turnover in 20 consecutive patients with asthma who sought help for acute respiratory obstruction in our emergency department. Serum concentrations of the carboxy-terminal cross-linked telopeptide of type 1 collagen (1CTP), reflecting bone resorption, and the carboxy-terminal propeptide of type 1 procollagen (P1CP), reflecting bone formation, were measured by radioimmunoassay. Changes of the circulating levels of the bone resorption marker 1CTP after treatment were age dependent with a significant negative correlation (r = -0.54, P = 0.01). The dependency on age remained when correcting, in a multiple linear regression analysis, for 1CTP levels at admission, weight, sex, and daily maintenance dose of inhaled glucocorticoids. Circulating levels of P1CP were suppressed in the whole group 1 week after initiation of glucocorticoid therapy, from 123.3 +/- 10.2 ng/ml at admission to 88.1 +/- 6.3 ng/ml after 1 week (P < 0.01). The changes in P1CP levels were not related to age. Our data indicate that bone formation is suppressed by glucocorticoids in all age groups, whereas the effect of glucocorticoids on markers of bone resorption is dependent on age.