[Total bone mineral content in premenopausal women]

Because of the controversy about the loss of bone mass in premenopausal women, we decided to study the total mineral bone content (TMBC), measured by dual-photon absorptiometry (DPA), a technique with low variation coefficient and high level of discrimination, in a group of 96 premenopausal women with a age range between 20-49 years, who were selected by homogeneous criteria of habits and life stile and body mass lower than 25. In all women, the TMBC were quantify in supine with the densitometer type Norland XR-26 and its value correlated with age following the "Pearson's test"; there were not statistical significance. We concluded that women in a fertile period of life do not lose bone mass as a TMBC, which mean the importance of obtaining the bone mass peak during the childhood and adolescency.