Bone-mineral losses in oophorectomized women

The bone-mineral content of oophorectomized and non-oophorectomized women was assayed by x-ray spectrophotometry in five different parts of the skeleton. The patients had previously been treated for mammary cancer and were clinically free from disease. In the five to ten-year postoperative period the oophorectomized women had significantly lower mineral content in mainly trabecular parts of the skeleton (average, -18 per cent; p less than 0.01), whereas the mineral content in cortical parts of the skeleton was not significantly lower (average, -7 per cent; p greater than 0.01). The mineral loss in axial and peripheral trabecular bone was of the same magnitude. The results indicate that cessation of ovarian function will lead to an increased fracture risk in the wrist and the femoral neck, as well as in the spine.