Introduction. Cardiovascular (CV) diseases and bone fractures due to
osteoporosis are the leading causes of death in the elderly. Objective. The
aim of this study was to demonstrate a correlation between the overall risk
for CV events, and low bone density in postmenopausal women, and its impact
on the incidence of serious CV events. Methods. Our prospective study
involved 300 postmenopausal women. All the examinees were divided into three
groups based on their measured bone density: Group I - 84 examinees with
osteoporosis; Group II - 115 examinees with osteopenia; and Group III - 101
examinees with normal bone density. In all examinees the overall ten-year
risk for a fatal CV event was calculated using the SCORE system tables.
Results. After a 36-month follow-up, CV events occurred in 19 (6.3%)
examinees. Significant differences in the incidence of CV events were
demonstrated between the patients with osteoporosis, osteopenia, and normal
bone density (?2=28.7; p<0.001), as well as between those with a high and low
CV risk (?2=22.6; p<0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed
that smoking (OR: 2.23; 95% CI: 1.02 to 6.19; p=0.035), and increase of
overall CV score (OR: 1.36; 95% CI: 1.17 to 1.58; p<0.001) are associated
with increased CV event risk, while the increase of T score value is
associated with decreased risk of CV event (OR: 0.42; 95% CI: 0.25 to 0.73;
p=0.002). Conclusion. Measurement of bone density with a standard assessment
of the total CV risk could be useful for selecting women who need intensive
prevention and treatment of atherosclerosis.
Estrogen enhances hippocampal gray-matter volume in young and older postmenopausal women: a prospective dose-response study