Bone mineral density among postmenopausal Saudi women

Abstract

Objective: Osteoporosis is reported to be common among postmenopausal Saudi women. The reported incidence varies between 50-60%. Different machines were used to reach these conclusions. At present it is believed that dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) is the most accurate method to diagnose osteoporosis. This study was conducted to measure bone mineral density (BMD) measurement of lumbar spine and the upper femur of Saudi postmenopausal women attending orthopedic clinic with unrelated complaints.

Methods: This study comprises of 256 patients attending orthopedic clinics at the King Fahd Hospital of the University, Al-Khobar, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia between January 2002 and June 2003. The data gathered was age, duration of menopause, height and weight for body mass index (BMI) calculation. Women with secondary osteoporosis were excluded from the study. Patients' orthopedic complaints were also recorded in the database. Bone mineral density measurements were carried out using Hologic total body DEXA machine. The data were analyzed using SPSS package.

Results: The data of 256 patients was available for analysis. The average age of patients screened was 57.62 years (49-76) SD +/- 6.71. The BMI was 21.3-42.9 Kg/m2 (SD +/- 5.34). The BMD of the lumbar spine was 0.785 gm/cm2 (0.527-1.023) SD +/-0.142 and that of the hip region was 0.764 gm/cm2 (0. 500-1.069) SD +/- 0.149. As per the WHO classification 59 women (23%) were classified as normal with T score of -0.82, 78 (30.5%) as osteopenic with T score -2.5 and 119 (46.7%) as osteoporosis with T score -3.58. When the BMD of the hip was analyzed 62 (24.2%) were normal T score -1.0, 81 (31.6%) as osteopenic, T score -2.5 and 113 (44.1%) as osteoporotic, with a T score of -3.1. On the basis of analysis of the lumbar spine 190 (74.2%) had increased risk of fracture as compared to the analysis of hip 59% were at increased risk of fracture.

Conclusion: Our results indicate that postmenopausal Saudi women suffer from osteoporosis and osteopenia higher than those from other parts of the country. Necessary steps are needed so as to avoid osteoporosis and its complications which could end up in epidemic proportions.