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Endocrine Care: Joel S. Finkelstein, Sarah E. Brockwell, Vinay Mehta, Gail A. Greendale, MaryFran R. Sowers, Bruce Ettinger, Joan C. Lo, Janet M. Johnston, Jane A. Cauley, Michelle E. Danielson, and Robert M. Neer Bone Mineral Density Changes during the Menopause Transition in a Multiethnic Cohort of Women J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2008; 93: 861-868 [Abstract] [Full text] [PDF]

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Parameters for bone mineral density in female patients during the menopause transition

Chrissa Sioka, Chrissa Sioka, Charalambos Bougias, Athanasios Papadopoulos, and Andreas Fotopoulos.   (4 February 2008)

Parameters for bone mineral density in female patients during the menopause transition 4 February 2008
Chrissa Sioka University Hospital of Ioannina, Chrissa Sioka, Charalambos Bougias, Athanasios Papadopoulos, and Andreas Fotopoulos. Send letter to journal: Re: Parameters for bone mineral density in female patients during the menopause transition csioka{at}yahoo.com Chrissa Sioka, et al.	We read with great interest the article by Finkelstein et al. (1) concerning the bone mineral changes during the menopause transition in a multi-ethnic cohort study. They reported that there was little if any change in bone mineral density (BMD) during mid-life, pre- or early perimenopausal phase, but there was a rapid decline in the late perimenopause and remained substantial BMD loss in the first few post menopausal years. They concluded that body weight was a major determinant of the rate of menopausal BMD loss, whereas ethnicity, per se, was not (1). In a recent preliminary study, we analyzed the occurrence of osteopenia and osteoporosis in association with the gynecological data (age at menarche, duration of fertility period and menopausal age) (2). According to our findings, the duration of fertility period, but not the age at menarche or age of menopause, affects the menopausal osteoporosis. Furthermore, we also found that the obstetric history of previous childbirths and/or miscarriages, independent of the number, did not seem to be a risk factor for osteopenia or osteoporosis (3). In the study by Finkelstein et al. (1) there was no analysis of the gynecological history in association with the observed BMD loss. We believe that it would be interesting to know if the age at menarche and menopause, duration of fertility period, and the numbers of childbirths, miscarriages or abortions were different in the various ethnic groups and correlated with the BMD loss during menopause. References 1. Finkelstein JS, Brockwell SE, Mehta V, Greendale GA, Sowers MR, Ettinger B, Lo JC, Johnston JM, Cauley JA, Danielson ME, Neer RM 2007 Bone mineral density changes during the menopause transition in a multi-ethnic cohort of women J Clin Endocrinol Metab Dec 26; [Epub ahead of print] 2. Sioka C, Bougias C, Tsiouris S, Fotopoulos A 2007 Duration of fertility and osteoporosis. Maturitas 57:217-218 3. Sioka C, Bougias C, Papadopoulos A, Fotopoulos A 2007 Is osteoporosis in postmenopausal female patients related to previous pregnancies and/or miscarriages? Climacteric 10:381-385