Comparison of Body Weight and Body Mass Index as Predictors for Osteoporosis among Postmenopausal Korean Women

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Tools such as SCORE (Simple Calculated Osteoporosis Risk Estimation) and ORAI (Osteoporosis Risk Assessment Instrument) have been used for screening test of Osteoporosis, These tools include race, age, weight, BMI, previous treatment with HRT and so on, as confounding factor. Among those factors, it has been reported that body weight is more appropriate than BMI. But those study were based on Caucasian women and not based on Korean women. Therefore, comparison among Korean women needed to be assessed. METHODS: A total of 200 postmenopausal women in ages 50 and over were enrolled in health promotion center of one university hospital, BMD was checked by DXA of lumbar spine (L1-L4) from January 2002 to May, 2003. Women, who had previous history of endocrine disease or medications, early onset menopause, previous surgery of uterus and ovary, which all could influence BMD, were excluded. RESULTS: The average age was 58.01, the average weight 58.36 kg, the average BMI (kg/m2) 24.39, the average BMD (t-score) -1.00. Among the total 26 women (13%) recorded BMD (t-score)< or =-2.5 and 50 women (25%) recorded -2.5regression analysis showed body weight was superior to BMI in predicting BMD (t-score). A logistic regression analysis on the likelihood of being osteoporotic (T-score<-2.5) further confirmed this finding.

CONCLUSION:

Patient body weight were more effective and useful than BMI in explaining BMD T-score as compared to BMI Korean postmenopausal women.