[Transversal study for the quantification of osteoporosis risk in an urban population]

Multifactorial disease, osteoporosis manifests as a "silent epidemics" characterized by the aggregation of the risk factors, the distribution of which has regional peculiarities.

To determine the demographic, anthropometric, and life style-related factors in relation with T score obtained by measurement of bone mineral density, and the quantification of the detected factors for a correct monitoring of the surveyed population.

The descriptive study was carried out in a series of 364 individuals who underwent outpatient osteodensitometry and were interviewed according to a questionnaire. The risk was quantified by giving a score for each item. Densitometry permitted the calculation of T score, bone mineral density index, and rigidity index. The gathered information was included in a database, then processed and interpreted by using specific tests.

The female-male ratio was 29: 1. Mean age was 57.08 +/- 10.03 years and the median 56 years. In 83.6% of the subjects weight was over 60 kg, at a mean height of 1.61 +/- 0.07 m. The prevalence of alcohol, coffee or tobacco consumption was not high, but 69.7% of the subjects were eating a diet low in diary products. The quantification of the global risk revealed that in over half of the subjects under study the score was below the average or dangerous level for developing osteoporosis. T score value showed that over 50% of the subjects had osteopenia, 9.2% manifest osteoporosis, and 39.9% values that include a mineralization deficit.

The risk for bone changes specific to osteoporosis was low in the urban population under study, a concordance between the reduced probability of osteoporosis resulting from the value of the global score and the results of osteodensitometry being noticed.