title: The association between age and bone mineral density in men and women aged 55 years and over: the Rotterdam Study.
abstract: In this cross-sectional study, bone mineral density (BMD) measurements were performed in 1762 ambulatory subjects (678 men and 1084 women) aged 55 years and over from the Rotterdam Study, a population based study of diseases in the elderly. BMD measurements of the proximal femur and lumbar spine were performed using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry. No age-related decline in BMD could be observed in the lumbar spine. Yearly percentage BMD reduction in women and men was -0.6% and -0.3% in the femoral neck, -0.8% and -0.5% in the Ward's triangle, and -0.4% and -0.3% in the trochanter, respectively. Late menopause was associated with high BMD in Ward's triangle and lumbar spine. We conclude that: (1) accurate assessment of age-related bone reduction in the spine is impossible from cross-sectional studies since BMD measurements in the elderly may be influenced by spinal osteoarthritis; and (2) the rate of age-related bone reduction in the femoral neck appears to be approximately two times higher in women than in men.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, Erasmus University Medical School, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Burger
authors.forename: P L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: van Daele
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Algra
authors.forename: F A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: van den Ouweland
authors.forename: D E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Grobbee
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hofman
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: van Kuijk
authors.forename: H E
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Schütte
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Birkenhäger
authors.forename: H A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Pols
mesh_terms: D015502:Absorptiometry, Photon; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D015519:Bone Density / Q000502:physiology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005269:Femur / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D008593:Menopause; D008875:Middle Aged; D009426:Netherlands; D012727:Sex Characteristics