Association between respiratory function and osteoporosis in pre- and postmenopausal women

Objective: To investigate the relationships between respiratory function and osteoporosis, 132 premenopausal and 98 postmenopausal women were evaluated. Methods: Bone mineral density (BMD) was measured with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Pulmonary function and anthropometric parameters were measured using a spirometer and a body composition analyzer. Results: Lumbar spine and proximal femur BMDs in postmenopausal women with forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) greater than or equal to92.0% averaged 0.83 +/- 0.12 g/cm(2) and 0.67 +/- 0.11 g/cm(2), which were significantly above the values (0.76 +/- 0.14 g/cm(2) and 0.61 +/- 0.12 g/cm(2), P < 0.05) in those with FEV1 <92.0%. The prevalences of osteoporosis at lumbar spine and proximal femur were 59.2 and 46.9% in the postmenopausal women with peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) <5.12 l/s, significantly higher than those of osteoporosis at the corresponding sites in the women with greater than or equal to5.12 l/s (36.7 and 20.4%, P < 0.05). Lumbar spine and proximal femur BMDs were positively correlated with FEV1 (r = 0.28, P < 0.05; r = 0.31, P < 0.05) and PEER (r = 0.35, P < 0.05; r = 0.23, P < 0.05) in postmenopausal women; however, no significant correlations were observed in premenopausal women. Conclusion: Pulmonary function seems to be more closely associated with BMD in postmenopausal women than in premenopausal women. Poor respiratory function may be an indicator of postmenopausal women at increased risk of osteoporosis. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.