An Observational Study to Evaluate the Changes in Bone Mineral Density of Women with Aging in a Tertiary Care Centre

Abstract

Introduction: Osteoporosis has become a serious health threat for women. The osteoporosis related fracture rate as well as treatment cost is increasing in recent times due to aging population. Aim: The aim of the present study was to investigate the risk factors of osteoporosis, identifying the risk group and the changes of Bone Mineral Density (BMD) in aging women. Materials and Methods: This was a descriptive type crosssectional study conducted at the Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research, Kolkata and College of Medicine, Kalyani, West Bengal from July 2013 to June 2016. Total 196 women who attended Gynaecology OPD were included in the study and interviewed regarding risk factors for developing osteoporosis. They were divided in two groups i.e., presence or absence of risk factors. Calculation of Body Mass Index (BMI) and T-score was done for all the subjects along with the Dual Energy X-Ray Absorpsiometry (DEXA) scan. It was a cross-sectional parallel group open level study. The tests were both sided with 95% confidence interval where p-value <0.05 was considered significant. Statistica and GraphPad InStat, version 3.0 were used for analysis. Results: BMD T-score was less than -1.5 for all women and less than -2.5 after 40 years in the study group. However, in control population BMD T-score was less than -2.5 only after 50 years. Conclusion: Osteopenia is a major concern for women in the presence of risk factors for osteoporosis even before menopause is achieved.

Keywords

• body mass index
• dual energy x-ray absorpsiometry
• menopause