Risk Management of Osteoporosis in Postmenopausal Women; A Study of Women In a Teaching Hospital

BACKGROUND: Postmenopausal females are susceptible to osteoporosis due to clinical manifestations. It not only causes morbidity; but, is considered to strikingly decline quality of life among patients. Among different developing regions, the prevalence rate of osteoporosis among postmenopausal women is alarming in the face of poor management and awareness about its risk factors.

AIM: The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence of osteoporosis and its known risk factors among postmenopausal women appearing for bone mineral density in Karachi.

METHODOLOGY: This descriptive cross-sectional study was undertaken from the period of “March 2006 to March 2007” in “Aga Khan University hospital”, Karachi. A total of 245 females, who came to the radiology department at Aga Khan Hospital for DXA scan, were recruited. All the relevant data was collected through questionnaires. Data analysis was undertaken by using SPSS version 11.5 to generate frequencies and proportion percentages.

RESULTS: The study demonstrated that 99 females (40%) amongst all subjects were osteopenic, 114 females (47%) were osteoporotic; whereas, 32 females (13%) were normal. A decline was observed in bone mineral density with advancing age and duration of menopause. The distribution of osteoporosis was observed to be common in women, who had more children, low BMI, history of prior fractures, history of premature menopause, and were avoiding exercise.

CONCLUSION: This study confirmed a high frequency of osteoporosis and osteopenia in postmenopausal women. Therefore, early screening is required to detect the decrease in bone mineral density among postmenopausal females to prevent fragility fracture. There is an imperative requirement for vast public awareness in this regard.