Social and behavior factors related to aged Chinese women with osteoporosis

Background. Women aged 65 years are screened routinely for osteoporosis in the developed world and identifying risk factors for osteoporosis should be highlighted in developing countries such as the People's Republic of China. In the present study, possible factors related to the occurrence of primary osteoporosis in aged Chinese women were explored. Methods. On appointed attendance at a menopausal outpatient clinic, generally healthy Chinese women aged 65 years were requested to complete a self-administered questionnaire. Bone mineral density at the left femur region was assessed using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, by which subjects were categorized as osteoporotic (group A), osteopenic (group B) or normal (group C). If a prevalent spinal fracture was affirmed, patients in group B were reclassified into group A. Non-conditional logistic regression analysis was applied to the calculate odds ratio (OR) of being in group A against the other two groups in terms of social and behavior factors (including education, past occupation, work quality, marriage status, income, self-rated health status, amount of daily physical activity, cigarette smoking, time watching television, and consumption of milk, soy products and tea). Results. Three hundred and twenty-four participants were eligible (77 in group A, 137 in group B, 110 in group C). There were significant differences in age, height, weight, menopausal age and years since menopause among groups. Compared with subjects with amount of daily physical activity 0.5h in group A, the OR for women in group C was 0.357 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.144-0.889) for 0.5-1h, 0.314 (95% CI 0.126-0.780) for 1-2h and 0.278 (95% CI 0.080-0.968) for 2h of daily physical activity. When adjusted for age and weight, however, the difference was not significant. Other factors did not reach statistical significance. Conclusion. The development of osteoporosis in aged women was affected by both menopause and aging. The known related factors could help to identify susceptible subjects in aged Chinese women for either further assessment or treatment.