Postmenopausal bone loss in Japanese women.
OBJECTIVE
Our purpose was to detect anatomic variations in postmenopausal bone loss and to determine the risk factors most affecting bone mass in Japanese women.


METHODS
One hundred sixty-six Japanese women (54 premenopausal and 112 postmenopausal), aged 40-68 years, were enrolled in the study. Bone mineral densities (BMD) of the lumbar spine (L2-4) and total body were measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry and the results were subjected to statistical analysis.


RESULTS
Among the various sites studied, the lumbar spine (L2-4) showed the fastest bone loss after menopause. Multiple regression analysis indicated that two factors, number of years since the menopause and body mass index (BMI), affected lumbar spine (L2-4) BMD.


CONCLUSIONS
Measurement of lumbar spine (L2-4) BMD is suitable for evaluating postmenopausal osteoporosis. The risk factors for postmenopausal bone loss were a long period after menopause and a low BMI.
Mizuno
K
K
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Nagoya University School of Medicine, Japan.
Suzuki
A
A
Ino
Y
Y
Asada
Y
Y
Kikkawa
F
F
Tomoda
Y
Y
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015519:Bone Density; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae / Q000503:physiopathology; D008875:Middle Aged; D015663:Osteoporosis, Postmenopausal / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012307:Risk Factors