[The evaluation of cardiovascular risk in postmenopausal women with osteopenia]

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the prevalence of the most important cardiovascular risk factors in postmenopausal women in correlation with bone mineral density (BMD). A hundred and fifty postmenopausal women were included in a case control study. The subjects were distributed into three equal groups: normal bone mass; osteopenia; non-complicated osteoporosis. BMD was measured with lumbar double-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Cardiovascular risk factors were assessed. The level of triglycerides was significantly higher in patients with osteoporosis vs. subjects with normal BMD. Arterial hypertension and a 10-year fatal risk of more than 0% were significantly more prevalent in the group with normal BMD. Osteoporosis presents an independent cardiovascular risk factor. Postmenopausal women with decreased BMD should be considered to have a higher risk of cardiovascular events, because standard risk scales do not take BMD into account.