Relationship of head lean mass to regional bone mineral density in elderly postmenopausal women.
OBJECTIVE
This study investigated the relationship of head lean mass to bone mineral density (BMD).


METHODS
Subjects were 102 elderly women (> or =65-years-old) and 123 middle-aged postmenopausal women (<65-years-old) with right-side dominance. Age, height, weight, and years since menopause (YSM) were recorded. Lean mass of the head, arm, trunk, leg, and total body were measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). BMD of the same regions were measured by DEXA.


RESULTS
In elderly women, head lean mass was positively correlated with BMD of the head (r=0.389, P<0.01), left arm (r=0.235, P<0.05), right arm (r=0.280, P<0.05), lumbar spine (L2-4) (r=0.411, P<0.001), pelvis (r=0.490, P<0.001), left leg (r=0.572, P<0.001), right leg (r=0.558, P<0.001), and total body (r=0.529, P<0.001). These relationships remained significant after adjusting for age, height, and YSM. In addition, the strength of correlation of head lean mass with BMD was higher than those of other regional lean mass with respective BMD. In middle-aged women, strength of correlation of head lean mass with BMD was loose (r< or =0.238), while regional lean mass was more correlated with respective regional BMD.


CONCLUSIONS
Factors related to lifestyle associated with higher (lower) head lean mass may contribute to higher (lower) BMD in elderly postmenopausal women.
Douchi
Tsutomu
T
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, Kagoshima University, 8-35-1 Sakuragaoka, Kagoshima 890-8520, Japan. tomy@m3.kufm.kagoshima-u.ac.jp
Iemura
Akiko
A
Matsuo
Takashi
T
Kuwahata
Tomoki
T
Oki
Toshimichi
T
Yoshimitsu
Nobuyuki
N
Nagata
Yukihiro
Y
D015502:Absorptiometry, Photon; D000273:Adipose Tissue; D000368:Aged; D001823:Body Composition; D015992:Body Mass Index; D015519:Bone Density / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D017698:Postmenopause / Q000502:physiology*; D012307:Risk Factors