Abstract
Prevention of postmenopausal osteoporosis is an important issue for the maintenance and promotion of QOL of senior females. We investigated the change of BMD of women ranging from pre-menopausal to postmenopausal years to devise a prevention plan for postmenopausal osteoporosis. The results showed that age correlated the highest with BMD. And, the slopes of regression lines were different form pre and post menopause. The absolute value of BMD was low in the post-menopausal period. But, the decreasing rate of BMD was larger in the pre-menopausal period. Therefore, reducing the drastic decrease of BMD in the premenopausal period is a key-point for the prevention of postmenopausal osteoporosis. Contrary to the reports of European and American females' data which showed high correlation between obesity and BMD, there was no significant correlation between BMD and weight, and the BMI and body fat ratio in our study with Japanese females. Nor was there any correlation with milk and milk products. Japanese females' physical constitution and life style are different from European and American females. Thus, we suggest that the preventive measure and campaign for enlightenment about osteoporosis should target pre-menopausal females, too. And for the screening of post menopausal osteoporosis, judgment of being under-weight or drastic weight loss and total calcium intake are necessary.
