Spinal Osteoarthritis Is Associated With Stature Loss Independently of Incident Vertebral Fracture in Postmenopausal Women

Study Design. Retrospective observational study from the Nagano Cohort Study. Objective. Clarify the association between spinal osteoarthritis and loss of stature in postmenopausal women. Summary of Background Data. Loss of stature with aging is known to deteriorate health-related quality of life and has been implicated with increased mortality. Although the association of vertebral fracture with height loss has been well documented, the relationship between stature loss and spinal osteoarthritis remains unclear. Methods. We retrospectively investigated Japanese postmenopausal women recruited from the Nagano Cohort Study. The participants were outpatients at a primary care institute in Nagano prefecture, Japan. A total of 977 postmenopausal patients (mean age: 65.8 yr) completed a minimum of 1 year of follow-up, with an average observation period of 7.6 years. Quartile analysis on the prevalence of spinal osteoarthritis and occurrence of incident fracture was performed based on the rate of stature change per year (Delta cm/yr). Multiple regression analysis was also conducted to identify the determinants of stature change. Results. The lower quartiles of stature change rate (i.e., more rapid stature loss) displayed a significantly higher prevalence of spinal osteoarthritis (P < 0.001) and incident vertebral fracture (P<0.001). A statistically significant independent negative association for spinal osteoarthritis prevalence with change in stature was revealed by multiple regression analysis after adjusting for confounders including incident vertebral fracture. The partial regression coefficient for spinal osteoarthritis was -0.18 (95% confidence interval -0.33 to -0.03; P = 0.016). Conclusion. This study demonstrated an independent association of spinal osteoarthritis with stature loss in postmenopausal women. Adequate understanding of this relationship and appropriate treatment approaches will help improve health-related quality of life in elderly patients.