Abstract
Objectives: Adults with mental retardation have few opportunity of the evaluation for bone strength,, though they are said to be more liable to suffer from bone strength deterioration by aging than those without mental retardation. We measured their bone strength and examined it by sex and living arrangement (resident or commuting) to discuss how to prevent osteoporosis. Methods: Research was carried out in August 2007 with 384 adults. 217 of which (143 males and 74 females) each belong to one of five social welfare institutes in the Tokyo metropolitan area (We call them "the resident") and 167 of which (100 males and 67 females) each belong to one of five daycare institutes (We call them "the commuting"). We first measured height, weight, waist circumference, percent body fat, blood pressure, and then calculated BMI. Finally, we compared the measured values by sex and by living arrangement, that is, resident or commuting. We also examined if the severity of retardation (severe, moderate, or mild) make any difference in the values, using the SPSS(ver.17.0). Results: The average calcaneal OSI was not significantly different by sex(males 2.834±0.503, females 2.766±0.609). While the commuting indicated significantly higher OSI of the left calcaneal bone than the resident, the commuting indicated not significantly but slightly higher OSI of the right calcaneal bone than resident. Conclusion: It has been known that bone density could increase until the second half of twenties to get to the PBM(peak bone mass). Also it has reported that bone density could be affected by weight and habit of exercise. Therefore, it seems to be necessary to start a good diet early and to promote physical exercise so as to heighten the PBM.
