title: Vitamin D deficiency and its relationship with bone mineral density among postmenopausal women living in the tropics.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine vitamin D (25OHD) status and its relationship with bone mineral density (BMD) in 93 postmenopausal women.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients were distributed in two groups: Group 1 - 51 to 65 years (n = 45) and Group 2 - 66 to 84 years (n = 48); 25OHD and PTH serum were analyzed and a DXA scan of the lumbar spine (LS) and femoral neck (FN) were taken.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mean +/- SD of serum 25OHD levels were 80.6 +/- 43.3 nmol/L (Group 1) and 63.7 +/- 27.6 nmol/L (Group 2); 24% had 25OHD levels < 25 nmol/L and 43.7% < 50 nmol/L. The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency at the 62.5 nmol/L cutoff increased significantly with age. Patients with hypovitaminosis D had a lower BMD at the FN (0.738 +/- 0.102 vs. 0.793 +/- 0.115 g/cm, p = 0.03) and had been postmenopausal for longer (21.0 +/- 8.4 vs. 16.2 +/- 8.4 years, p = 0.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We found a high prevalence of hypovitaminosis D in postmenopausal women. Age, years elapsed since menopause and low BMD in the FN were associated with deficiency.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Osteoporose de Pernambuco, Hospital Agamenon Magalhães, Ministério da Saúde, Recife, PE, Brasil. fbandeira@gmail.com <fbandeira@gmail.com>
authors.forename: Francisco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bandeira
authors.forename: Luiz
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Griz
authors.forename: Eduardo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Freese
authors.forename: Daniela Castro
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Lima
authors.forename: Ana Carolina
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Thé
authors.forename: Erik Trovão
authors.initials: ET
authors.lastname: Diniz
authors.forename: Thyciara Fontenele
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: Marques
authors.forename: Cynthia Salgado
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Lucena
mesh_terms: D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015519:Bone Density / Q000502:physiology*; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D015663:Osteoporosis, Postmenopausal / Q000175:diagnosis; D010281:Parathyroid Hormone / Q000097:blood*; D017698:Postmenopause / Q000502:physiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D014329:Tropical Climate; D014808:Vitamin D Deficiency / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology
chemical_list: D010281:Parathyroid Hormone