Posted by James
A total of 100 staff physicians were enrolled in the study. There were 52 men and 48 women with an age range of 27-79 years (mean 43.40±14.3). The study population was composed of the following groups: African (n=18), African-American (n=32), Asian (n=31), Caribbean (n=16), Caucasian (n=2) and Hispanic (n=l). The exclusion criteria included current pregnancy, history of hyperthyroidism, liver disease, kidney disease, and persons taking medications or recreational drugs that affect bone metabolism. Signed informed consent was obtained for each participant. This study was approved by the Howard University Institutional Review Board.
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Posted by James
INTRODUCTION
Osteoporosis is a group of skeletal disorders characterized by low bone mass and microarchitectural disruption of bone tissue that leads to fractures. Based on the results of bone densitometry, the World Health Organization (WHO) study group defined osteoporosis as a bone mass greater than 2.5 standard deviation (SD) below peak bone mass (T-score) and osteopenia as 1 SD to 2.5 SD below peak bone mass. More than 10 million Americans have osteoporosis, and another 18 million have osteopenia. The prevalence of osteoporosis drug and osteopenia differs between men and women. Approximately 56% of women in the United States >50 years of age have osteopenia, and 16% have osteoporosis. Low bone mass, expressed clinically as bone mineral density, varies by race and ethnicity. It is more common in Caucasian women (17% have osteoporosis, and 42% have osteopenia) than in other ethnic groups. African-American women, for example, reportedly have a low prevalence of osteoporosis and osteopenia (8%> and 28%>, respectively).
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