Effect of Physical Activities on Bone Mineral Density and Incidence of Fractures in Post-Menopausal Women A Comparison of Presence and Absence of Other Concomitant Risk Factors

Background:Post-menopausal osteoporosis isone of themostimportanthealth problems. Thisconditionfrequentlyleadstobonefractures. Objectives:Todeterminetheeffectofphysicalactivitiesonbonemineraldensity(BMD)in post-menopausalwomen,regardlessofanyconcomitantpredisposingriskfactorsforosteoporosis. PatientsandMethods:BMDsof174consecutivepost-menopausalwomenwitha meanage of59.7yearsanda meanpost-menopausaldurationof 10.3yearsweremeasuredbydual energyX-rayabsorptiometry(DEXA)technique.AccordingtothereportedT scores,risksof femur and lumbar vertebrae fractures were estimated. The correlation between physical activities, as well as other osteoporosis risk factors and the above-mentioned measured quantitieswasassessed. Results:68%oftheindividualswithnophysicalactivitiesand25%ofthosewhohadregular physicalactivitieswereintheosteoporoticrange.Thefemoralfractureriskwassignificantly higherforthosewithnophysicalactivities(50%)thanthosephysicallyactivesubjects(19%). Moreover,riskofdevelopingvertebralfracturewashigherintheformergroup(74%vs.35%). BMDsweresignificantlydifferentbetweenthetwogroupsingeneral;(p<0.001)aswellas betweentheirsubgroupswithout(n=129,p<0.001)andwith(n=45,p<0.01)otherriskfactors forosteoporosis). Conclusion: Physical activity has positive effects on BMD of post-menopausal women, resulting in their reduced likelihood of osteoporotic fractures, irrespective of presence or absenceofotherosteoporosisriskfactors.