title: [Bone mineral density in healthy premenopausal Bulgarian women of 40-49 years of age].
abstract: Osteoporosis is a disease that have a great impact upon health and well being amongst the elderly population worldwide. Bone mineral density /BMD/ is currently the most powerful and worldwide accepted determinant for the future risk of fractures.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To investigate and evaluate the values of the BMD of the spine /L2-L4/in anterior-posterior position by dual X-ray absorbtiometry in healthy and with preserved menstruation Bulgarian women between 40-44 and 45-49 years of age.
  
  
  METHODS
  186 women between 40 -44 years and 106 women between 45-49 years of age with preserved menstruation were included in the study. Age, height and body weight were recorded to each of them. BMD in g/cm(2) was measured on LUNAR-DPX -A version 1.15 bone densitometer at L2-L4 in anterior-posterior position.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The younger group of women between 40 and 44 years of age showed with 0, 049 g/cm(2) /4,2% / higher BMD of the measured vertebrae in comparison with the BMD of the women between 45-45 years. In both groups body weight correlates positively with BMD. The analyses of the mean values of BMD /L2-L4/ in healthy and with preserved menstruation Bulgarian women shows an interval between 1.011 g/cm(2) and 1.321 g/cm(2) for the women 40-44 years old and between 0.947 g/cm(2) and 1.287 g/cm(2) for the group of women between 45-49 years /CI -0.95/. The comparison of the BMD between both groups shows reduction of 4.2% which makes a physiological bone loss of 0. 7% annually.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The higher body weight in the Bulgarian women is protective, but it is not the only determinant of the lumbar bone mineral density and bone loss.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Enchev
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Botushanov
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Dzhambazova
mesh_terms: D015502:Absorptiometry, Photon; D000328:Adult; D015519:Bone Density; D002031:Bulgaria; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D008875:Middle Aged; D017697:Premenopause / Q000378:metabolism*