| BACKGROUND: Globally, 30% of female over 50 years old have osteoporosis. This disease is one
of the major causes of disability and death in the elderly. This research was aimed to determine
the prevalence of primary osteoporosis and low bone density based on bone mineral density in
postmenopausal women and its sociodemographic, obstetric, and life style risk factors.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional descriptive-analytical study was performed by
simple random sampling on 850 postmenopausal women aged 50–65 years covered by all health
centers, from August 2018 to April 2019, in Tabriz-Iran. Four hundred and forty-five eligible women
underwent densitometry using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry in the lumbar spine and femoral
neck. Socio-individual, obstetric-medical, international physical activity questionnaires-short form,
and anthropometric questionnaires were completed. Data analyzed using descriptive and analytical
statistics including multivariate logistic regression in SPSS 21 software.
RESULTS: The prevalence of primary osteoporosis based on lumbar vertebra T-score, femoral
neck T-score, and total was 23.4%, 3.4%, and 24.5%, respectively, and the prevalence of primary
osteopenia based on lumbar vertebra T-score, femur neck T-score, and total was 42%, 35.5%, and
43.6%, respectively. The present study showed that the odds of osteoporosis increased by increment
of age (odds ratio [OR]: 1.18; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.07–1.30), but it decreased by increasing
menopausal age (OR: 0.92; 95% CI: 0.85–1.01), body mass index (OR: 0.87; 95% CI: 0.78–0.97),
arm circumference (OR: 0.84; 95% CI: 0.74–0.95), and education level (P = 0.028). It was higher in
unmarried women (OR: 2.65; 95% CI: 0.99–7.08) and those with nonpersonal housing (OR: 4.02;
95% CI: 1.24–13.07).
CONCLUSIONS: Given the high prevalence of primary osteoporosis and low bone mass in postmenopausal
women, health education is necessary for preventing modifiable risk factors and reducing the complications
of this disease. |