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Bone mineral density and fracture threshold in South Indian elderly
1Department of Geriatric Medicine, Government General Hospital and Madras Medical College, Chennai.
Aim:
To estimate bone mineral density and fracture threshold in South Indian elderly and to correlate BMD with risk factors.
Material And Methods:
A prospective study of estimating bone mineral density (BMD) was done in 116 elderly patients from the out-patient Department of Geriatric Medicine, Government General Hospital, Chennai. Bone density was estimated using dual X-ray absorptiometry scan. (Dexa Scan-Model Hologic QDR 1000). The BMD, 'T' score and 'Z' score were estimated.
Results:
Of 116 patients (53 males, 63 females) 38 had sustained fractures. BMD in 61-70 years age group was 0.765 and 71-80 years age group was 0.735 and 81-90 years was 0.821. BMD in fractures cases was 0.720 and non-fracture cases was 0.80. The average BMD in female patients were 0.78, 0.76, 0.74, 0.575 after 10, 20, 30, 40 years of menopause, respectively.
Conclusion:
This study suggests a BMD value of 0.72 as a fracture threshold in South Indian elderly. Increasing age and post-menopausal state negatively correlates with BMD as in Western studies.
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