| Abstrakt: |
We measured forearm bone mineral content at the beginning and end of a 5 year period in 307 untreated postmenopausal volunteers. We also measured height, weight, and a number of biochemical variables in plasma and urine after an overnight fast. The initial mean age of the subjects was 59.0 years (range 39–72), and the mean years since menopause was 10.0 (range 1–37). The mean forearm BMC fell from 1034 ± 9.6 (SEM) to 982 ± 9.3 mg/cm (P< 0.001). The coefficient of correlation between the first and second measurements was 0.96. The mean rate of change was −1.0% per annum (with a 99% range of −4 to 1% per annum), which agreed well with previous estimates from cross‐sectional data. There was a significant negative correlation between rate of change in bone mass and initial value (r= −0.23; P< 0.001), which was eliminated by expressing change as a percentage of initial bone mass. Of the other variables measured, the one that was most significantly related to the percentage change in bone mass was the urinary hydroxyproline/creatinine ratio (r= −0.35; P< 0.001), which we regard as a marker only. By stepwise regression, the only significant determinants of the rate of change in bone mass were body weight (positive, P< 0.001), years since menopause (positive, P< 0.005), urine calcium (negative, P< 0.01), and serum estrone (positive, P< 0.05). The rate of change in BMC was not significantly related to dietary calcium, plasma alkaline phosphatase, serum DHEAS, or any other variable measured at the outset or to serum PTH or serum osteocalcin measured at the conclusion. |
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