Osteoporosis Risk Prediction Among a Group of Postmenopausal Females: A Case-Control Study

Abstract

Background: Osteoporosis is often called the silent disease as the first symptom of osteoporosis is a fracture. In Egypt, 53.9% of postmenopausal women have osteopenia and 28.4% have osteoporosis. Failure to identify patients at risk for osteoporosis and fracture results in missed opportunities for prevention. Objectives: The study objectives were to assess the association between osteoporosis risk factors and severity of osteopenia/osteoporosis in postmenopausal females and to suggest a simple screening tool for prediction of osteopenia/osteoporosis in primary health care. Methods: This is a case-control study. A sample size of 210 candidates was calculated using Epi-Info version 6. Purposive non-probability sampling technique was used for selection of the candidates. Interviewing questionnaire, Correlations and logistic regression analysis were used. Results: The independent significant predictors for osteopenia/osteoporosis were: advanced age, inadequate physical exercise, inadequate indoor sun exposure, personal history of fragility fractures, improper pregnancy spacing, high parity, early menopause, low body-mass index and family history of osteoporosis. Conclusion: This study revealed a high prevalence of undiagnosed osteopenia and osteoporosis. It is recommended to use the above 9 risk factors as a simple cost-effective tool in Primary Health Care (PHC) for early prediction of abnormal bone mineral density (BMD). The majority of these factors can be modified for the early prevention.