Alireza Mehdizadeh1*, Neda Valizadeh1, Vahid Aghaei2

Abstract

Introduction: Osteoporosis is a metabolic bone disease occurring in the form of reduced bone mass. It is practically defined based on measurement of bone mineral density. This research was conducted to evaluate the frequency of osteoporosis in women aged over 50 years admitted to Imam Khomeini Hospital of Urmia. Methodology: This cross-sectional research was carried out to evaluate the prevalence of osteoporosis in women aged over 50 years admitted bone density measurement center in Urmia Imam Khomeini Hospital during the years 2010-2013. Patients with metabolic bone diseases such as hyperparathyroidism or untreated hyperthyroidism, chronic renal failure, liver cirrhosis, chronic liver disease, corticosteroid use, malignancy, and patients undergoing chemotherapy and radiotherapy were excluded. The data were derived from existing medical records and analyzed by SPSS20 software. Results: A total of 3097 patients were included in this research. The results revealed that the mean age of the patients was 67.1±13 (50-108) and the frequency of osteoporosis and osteopenia in hip was 164 (5.3%) and 282 (9.1%), respectively, and the frequency of osteoporosis and osteopenia in lumbar vertebrae was 796 (25.7%) and 260 (8.5%), respectively. Discussion and conclusion: Our research showed high prevalence of osteoporosis compared with osteopenia, especially in the lumbar vertebrae, and screening the osteoporosis is not recommended routinely in women aged over 50 years. Further studies are recommended in this regard.