The Correlation between Body Mass Index and Bone Mineral Density in Menopausal Women

Abstract

The Correlation between Body Mass Index and Bone Mineral Density in Menopausal Women

Visut                 Suvithayasiri       MD

Okas                 Thaipisuttikul      MD

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, BMA Medical College and Vajira Hospital

Objective: To study the correlation between body mass index (BMI) and bone mineral density (BMD) in menopausal women.

Study design: Cross-sectional descriptive study.

Subjects: Three hundred and thirty eight natural menopausal women without hormonal replacement therapy were studied at The Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, BMA Medical College and Vajira Hospital during June 1997 to December 2000.

Methods: Subjects were divided into three groups: premenopause (n=52), perimenopause (n=96) and postmenopause (n = 90). Heign, weight and body mass index (BMI) were recorded. Dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) was used to measure BMD at the lumber spine (L2-L4) and left hip joint (femur neck, Ward's triangle, trochanter) at Nuclear Medicine Unit. Data were analyzed to find the correlation between BMI and BMD in all studied groups.

Main outcome measures: The correlation between BMI and BMD at lumbar spine (L2-L4) and hip joint in three studied groups of menopausal women.

Results: In premenopausal, perimenopausal and postmenopausal groups, BMI had no statistically significant difference. But BMD at L2-L4 and hip joint were decreased respectively with statistically significant difference. The BMI was positively significant correlated with BMD (p