title: Radiolucent periapical lesions and bone mineral density in post-menopausal women.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the relationship between radiolucent periapical lesions and bone mineral density in post-menopausal women.
  
  
  METHODS
  Seventy-five post-menopausal women were recruited for the study. Bone mineral density was measured using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Three groups were established: healthy bone group, osteopenic group and osteoporotic group. Periapical radiolucencies were diagnosed on the basis of examination of digital panoramic radiographs. Statistical analysis was carried out using anova and chi-squared tests, and logistic regression analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In both the osteopenic and osteoporotic groups, 25% of women showed at least one periapical radiolucency, whereas this was only 7.4% in the healthy bone group (odds ratio = 4.2; p = 0.061). After multivariate logistic regression analysis adjusting for covariates (age, number of teeth, number of root-filled teeth and number of teeth with coronal restorations), a marginally significant association was evident between bone mineral density and the presence of periapical radiolucencies (odds ratio = 1.9; CI 95% = 1.0-3.8; p = 0.050).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  After adjusting for covariates, low bone mineral density is marginally associated with a higher frequency of radiolucent periapical lesions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Odontostomatology, School of Dentistry, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: José
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: López-López
authors.affiliation: Department of Stomatology, School of Dentistry, University of Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain.
authors.forename: Lizett
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Castellanos-Cosano
authors.affiliation: Department of Odontostomatology, School of Dentistry, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Albert
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Estrugo-Devesa
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, Bellvitge University Hospital, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gómez-Vaquero
authors.affiliation: Department of Stomatology, School of Dentistry, University of Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain.
authors.forename: Eugenio
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Velasco-Ortega
authors.affiliation: Department of Stomatology, School of Dentistry, University of Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain.
authors.forename: Juan José
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Segura-Egea
mesh_terms: D015502:Absorptiometry, Photon; D000368:Aged; D015519:Bone Density; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D010483:Periapical Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology*; D017698:Postmenopause; D011862:Radiography, Panoramic
keywords: apical periodontitis; menopause; oral medicine; osteoporosis