Ricerca AMMEB (Age Menopausal MEnarch BMI – Body Mass Index), pubblicata negli Stati Uniti con il titolo “Prevalence of postmenopause osteoporosis in Italy” nella rivista Calcified Tissue International
Prevalence of Postmenopausal Osteoporosis in Italy and Validation of Decision Rules for Referring Women for Bone Densitometry
Calcified Tissue International
May 2013, Volume 92, Issue 5, pp 437–443 | Cite as
Original Research
First Online: 20 January 2013
340 Downloads
5 Citations
Abstract
We report the prevalence of osteoporosis, osteopenia, and fractures in a cohort of Italian women randomly recruited among the general population and validate the use of clinical guidelines in referring women for bone density testing. We enrolled in the study 995 healthy women (age range 45–92 years). A bone density test at the lumbar spine and femur was performed and a questionnaire on osteoporosis risk factors completed for all patients. The prevalence of osteoporosis was 33.67 %, that of osteopenia was 46.63, and 19.7 % were normal at bone density testing. Osteoporotic women were generally older and thinner, with a shorter period of estrogen exposure. The prevalence of fractures was 21.9 %, and fractured women had a lower bone density, were older, and had a longer postmenopausal period. Clinical guidelines for eferring women for bone density testing performed poorly (the best performance was 68 %). This is the first study providing data on the prevalence of osteoporosis/osteopenia and of fractures in a cohort of healthy postmenopausal women. Known risk factors influence bone density and risk of fractures. The role of screening in etecting women with postmenopausal osteoporosis is far from optimal.
