OSTEOPOROSIS AND THE EFFECTS OF AGEING ON BONE MASS IN ELDERLY MEN AND WOMEN1

A longitudinal study of the effects of ageing on bone mass,height, and body weight was made in random samples of a definedpopulation of elderly men and women. The observations were madetwice with an interval of 11 years between them. At initialsurvey ages ranged from 55 to 64 years. Bone mass was assessedfrom measurements of the second metacarpal cortex made directlyfrom radiographs. Loss of bone occurred in both sexes but thiswas not a universal phenomenon; some men and women lost littleor no bone over the period of study. In those persons in whombone loss did take place this happened at different rates; andthe women tended to lose more bone than the men.Change in bonemass in the metacarpal was not related to loss of heigh, changein body weight, the occurence of fracture, or the presence ofback pains. A separate population of persons with the clinicalsyndrome of senile osteoporosis was not identified.