Body weight, BMI, and stature have a protective effect on bone mineral density in women with postmenopausal vertebral osteoporosis, whereas greater age at menarche and years after menopause have a negative effect

Abstract

Abstract Background Osteoporosis is a metabolic bone disease with a risk factor of being female, particularly after the onset of menopause. Objectives To evaluate the influence of age, anthropometric, and reproductive variables on spinal bone mineral density (BMD) in women with postmenopausal vertebral osteoporosis. Methods The study was retrospective and included data from 171 patients with postmenopausal vertebral osteoporosis. We performed both simple and multiple regressions considering BMD in spine as the dependent variable. Coefficients of correlation (r), coefficients of determination (r 2), and their level of significance were calculated. Results The associations between spinal BMD and each of the following variables were extremely significant: age at menarche (P = 0.0003), weight (P < 0.0001), stature (P = 0.0004), and BMI (P < 0.0001). The associations between spinal BMD and age (P = 0.004), and between spinal BMD and number of years after menopause were very significant (P = 0.0093). BMD was not associated with age at menopause or number of reproductive years. For multiple regressions there was an increasing trend of r 2 with increasing number of independent variables included in the analysis: r 2 = 21.84% (2 variables), r 2 = 24.93% (3 variables), 26.45% (4 variables), and r 2 = 27% (5 variables). Conclusion BMD is positively associated with weight, BMI, and stature, and is negatively associated with age, time of menarche, and years after menopause. BMD is not associated with age at menopause and reproductive period.