Prevalence of Osteoporosis in Australian Women: Geelong Osteoporosis Study

doi:10.1385/JCD:3:3:261

Journal of Clinical Densitometry

Volume 3, Issue 3, Autumn 2000, Pages 261-268

https://doi.org/10.1385/JCD:3:3:261 Get rights and content

Abstract

To evaluate the prevalence of osteoporosis at various sites among Australian women, cross-sectional bone mineral density (BMD) data for adult females was obtained from an age-stratified population-based sample (n = 1494; 20–94 yr) drawn at random from the Barwon Statistical Division, a population characteristic of Australia. Age- and weight- (and for three sites, height) matched reference ranges for BMD at the lumbar spine, proximal femur, forearm, and total body were developed using regression techniques. The cutoff BMD level for osteoporosis at the PA spine was 0.917 g/cm² and 0.713 g/cm² at the femoral neck according to the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. The upper cutoff level for osteopenia was 1.128 g/cm² at the PA spine and 0.913 g/cm² for the femoral neck. The proportion of Australian women categorized as having osteoporosis at the PA spine, femoral neck, or midforearm ranged from 0.9% among those aged 40–44 yr to 87.0% for those older than 79 yr. This study provides reference data representative of the Australian female population. A large proportion of elderly Australian women has osteoporosis according to the WHO guidelines.

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Original ArticlePrevalence of Osteoporosis in Australian Women: Geelong Osteoporosis Study

Abstract

Bone

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Osteoporos Int

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Med J Aust

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Osteoporos Int

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Osteoporos Int

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Med J Aust

Do Australian women have greater spinal bone density than North American women?

Osteoporos Int

Assessment of fracture risk and its application to screening for postmenopausal osteoporosis

Original Article
Prevalence of Osteoporosis in Australian Women: Geelong Osteoporosis Study