Abstract
A five-year longitudinal study was conducted to clarify the pattern of menopause-related vertebral bone loss in healthy women. The subjects were 357 Japanese women aged 40-60 years, who were divided into 7 groups according to their menstrual status. Lumbar spine bone mineral density (BMD) was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) at the baseline and at the end of the 5-year period. Urinary free deoxypyridinoline parameters related to bone metabolism at the end of the 5-year period and the incidence of ‘low BMD’ based on the diagnostic criteria for osteoporosis were also evaluated. These longitudinal data indicated that vertebral bone loss commences before the menopause, and continues for over 10 years after the menopause. Also, the rate of bone loss accelerates sharply during the perimenopausal period and then declines exponentially with time after the menopause.
