A cross-sectional study of postmenopausal women found an association between osteoporosis and past gastric surgery or oral corticosteroids

Abstract

Objective: To determine the relationship between osteoporosis and the presence of specific and nonspecific medical conditions in postmenopausal women. To what, extent is this relationship useful in detecting osteoporosis in daily general practice. Study Design and Setting: Subjects were 1,684 postmenopausal women registered with 23 general practitioners. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was done with 52 disease variables and 24 biometrical and lifestyle variables, using BMD as the dependent variable. Bivariate analysis was performed, to calculate their contribution to the risk of having osteoporosis. Results: Having more than one disease was associated with a lower prevalence of osteoporosis. A positive association with the presence of osteoporosis was only found for the use of corticosteroids, gastric surgery, and cervical complaints. The risk for osteoporosis in the high risk category increased from 39 to 71% in women using oral corticosteroids, from 39 to 56% in women with a history of gastric surgery, and from 39 to 63% in women With cervical complaints. Conclusion: The clinical relevance of medical conditions for detecting osteoporosis is limited. However, all patients using oral corticosteroids and patients with a history of gastric surgery should be checked for the presence of osteoporosis. Cervical compaints in the high risk category was associated with osteoporosis. (C) 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.