Social and behavior factors related to aged Chinese women with osteoporosis.
BACKGROUND
Women aged >or=65 years are screened routinely for osteoporosis in the developed world and identifying risk factors for osteoporosis should be highlighted in developing countries such as the People's Republic of China. In the present study, possible factors related to the occurrence of primary osteoporosis in aged Chinese women were explored.


METHODS
On appointed attendance at a menopausal outpatient clinic, generally healthy Chinese women aged >or=65 years were requested to complete a self-administered questionnaire. Bone mineral density at the left femur region was assessed using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, by which subjects were categorized as osteoporotic (group A), osteopenic (group B) or normal (group C). If a prevalent spinal fracture was affirmed, patients in group B were reclassified into group A. Non-conditional logistic regression analysis was applied to the calculate odds ratio (OR) of being in group A against the other two groups in terms of social and behavior factors (including education, past occupation, work quality, marriage status, income, self-rated health status, amount of daily physical activity, cigarette smoking, time watching television, and consumption of milk, soy products and tea).


RESULTS
Three hundred and twenty-four participants were eligible (77 in group A, 137 in group B, 110 in group C). There were significant differences in age, height, weight, menopausal age and years since menopause among groups. Compared with subjects with amount of daily physical activity <0.5 h in group A, the OR for women in group C was 0.357 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.144-0.889) for 0.5-1 h, 0.314 (95% CI 0.126-0.780) for 1-2 h and 0.278 (95% CI 0.080-0.968) for >2 h of daily physical activity. When adjusted for age and weight, however, the difference was not significant. Other factors did not reach statistical significance.


CONCLUSIONS
The development of osteoporosis in aged women was affected by both menopause and aging. The known related factors could help to identify susceptible subjects in aged Chinese women for either further assessment or treatment.
Wang
Shaohai
S
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, People's Republic of China. wangshaohai@medmail.com.cn
Lin
Shouqing
S
Zhou
Yuanzheng
Y
Wang
Zehua
Z
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology; D001519:Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D015519:Bone Density; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology; D015663:Osteoporosis, Postmenopausal / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012931:Social Environment; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors