Is Bone Density Different in Women at
Postmenopause Stage?

Studies have shown BMD starts to lessen in women during perimenopause. A research study was conducted in the Department of Medicine in the Massachusetts Hospital in Boston, to see if ethnicity played a roll in postmenopause BMD in women. Research was undertaken on 3 ethnic groups in the U.S. These were Caucasian, Chinese, Japanese and African-American.

Final reports concluded that the groups with the highest BMD were African-American. Second was Caucasian and third were Asians. Yet, studies conveyed that Asian women had decreased fracture rates than Caucasian women even though their bone density was less. This could be due to the different lifestyles such as diet and careers. Women around the perimenopausal ages of 42 years were observed during peri-menopause and during postmenopause for this study.

Another study was carried out to see if weight played an important role, and women below 70kg from various ethnic groups were tested. There showed to be no significant difference in BMD in African-Americans and Asians. Caucasians showed to be the lowest in these tests mindless of weight.

Caucasian women have shown to be the most accessible to having a decreased BMD during menopause and postmenopause. Even thought their BMD is shown to be higher than Asians, their BMD was more fragile and they suffered from more bone fractures.

Further tests taken have shown weight factors to affect BMD in women experiencing menopause. Ethnic groups BMD do differ, but lifestyle and dietary differences are shown to play an important role in the upkeep of BMD during menopause. Weight gain factors that are coherent to an ethnicity´s biological make up and could be tied to a decreased BMD in women in postmenopause.

Studies have shown that the Caucasian population suffer the most from obesity in the U.S. This could also be a contributing factor to the decrease of BMD during menopause.

Sources: PUBMED.GOV. “Bone Mineral Density Changes During the Menopause Transition in A Multi-Ethnic Cohort of Women.”. Finkelstein J.S & Brockwell S.E. 6 December 2007