High prevalence of low bone density in young Iranian healthy individuals

With the increasing life expectancy, osteoporosis is becoming a major worldwide health problem, more particularly in the Middle East region. Bone mineral density (BMD) of the hip, lumbar spine, and forearm was measured by dual X-ray absorptiometry (Lunar) in 2085 (25% men, 75% women) healthy Iranian subjects aged 20–88 yr. The prevalence of osteoporosis and osteopenia in at least one measured site in subjects aged 50 yr and older were 36.1% and 43.9% in women, and 24.5% and 70.8% in men, respectively. Among subjects younger than 50 yr, 49.6% of women and 59.6% of men had low bone mass, respectively. In addition, more than one third of subjects showed discordance between different sites of measurement. The high incidence of low bone density in young ages requires our proper attention and planning for prevention. Measurement of BMD in all three sites seems necessary and clinicians should look for possible causes of discordance between different sites of measurement and develop an appropriate strategy approaching to these patients.