Prevalence of osteoporosis and osteopenia among women over fifty years of age, from the city of Durango, Mexico, diagnosed by forearm-DEXA

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the prevalence of osteopenia and osteporosis using distal forearm dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry among a random sample of women of 50 years or older living in the city of Durango, Mexico. MATERIAL AND METHODS: 258 women participated in a cross-sectional study fielded at the Osteoporosis Clinic of Durango. Bone mineral density was determined by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Scanning was performed on the distal third of the dominant forearm. Diagnosis of osteopenia and osteoporosis was based on the WHO criteria. RESULTS: Osteoporosis was diagnosed in 13.65% (95%CI: 9.6-18.5) and osteopenia in 30.12% (95% CI: 24.5-36.2) of participants. Mean age, weight, height and body mass index were 65 years, 60.5 kg, 147.8 cm and 28.3 kg/m2 respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Osteoporosis and osteopenia were a common diagnosis given the mean age of our sample. These results can be extrapolated to the general population thereby suggesting the need for preventive measures to decrease disease prevalence, especially considering the increase in life expectancy.