Effect of Physical Activities on Bone Mineral Density and Incidence of Fractures in Post- Menopausal Women: A Comparison of Presence and Absence of Other Conmitant Risk Factors

Post-menopausal osteoporosis is one of the most important health problems. This condition frequently leads to bone fractures.

To determine the effect of physical activities on bone mineral density (BMD) in post-menopausal women, regardless of any concomitant predisposing risk factors for osteoporosis. Patients and

BMDs of 174 consecutive post-menopausal women with a mean age of 59.7 years and a mean post-menopausal duration of 10.3 years were measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) technique. According to the reported T scores, risks of femur and lumbar vertebrae fractures were estimated. The correlation between physical activities,as well as other osteoporosis risk factors and the above-mentioned measured quantities was assessed.

68% of the individuals with no physical activities and 25% of those who had regular physical activities were in the osteoporotic range. The femoral fracture risk was significantly higher for those with no physical activities (50%) than those physically active subjects (19%).Moreover, risk of developing vertebral fracture was higher in the former group (74% vs. 35%).BMDs were significantly different between the two groups in general; (p<0.001) as well as between their subgroups without (n=129, p<0.001) and with (n=45, p<0.01) other risk factors for osteoporosis).

Physical activity has positive effects on BMD of post-menopausal women,resulting in their reduced likelihood of osteoporotic fractures, irrespective of presence or absence of other osteoporosis risk factors.