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BMC Primary Care
Published in: BMC Primary Care 1/2004

Open Access 01-12-2004 | Research article

The relationship between educational level and bone mineral density in postmenopausal women

Authors: Ali Gur, Ayşegül Jale Sarac, Kemal Nas, Remzi Cevik

Published in: BMC Primary Care | Issue 1/2004

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Abstract

Background

This study describes the influence of educational level on bone mineral density (BMD) and investigating the relationship between educational level and bone mineral density in postmenopausal women.

Methods

A total of 569 postmenopausal women, from 45 to 86 years of age (mean age of 60.43 ± 7.19 years) were included in this study. A standardized interview was used at the follow-up visit to obtain information on demographic, life-style, reproductive and menstrual histories such as age at menarche, age at menopause, number of pregnancies, number of abortions, duration of menopause, duration of fertility, and duration of lactation. Patients were separated into four groups according to the level of education, namely no education (Group 1 with 209 patients), elementary (Group 2 with 222 patients), high school (Group 3 with 79 patients), and university (Group 4 with 59 patients).

Results

The mean ages of groups were 59.75 ± 7.29, 61.42 ± 7.50, 60.23 ± 7.49, and 58.72 ± 7.46, respectively. Spine BMD was significant lower in Group 1 than that of other groups (p < 0.05). Trochanter and ward's triangle BMD were the highest in Group 4 and there was a significant difference between Group 1 and 4 (p < 0.05). The prevalence of osteoporosis showed an inverse relationship with level of education, ranging from 18.6% for the most educated to 34.4% for the no educated women (p < 0.05). Additionally, there was a significant correlation between educational level and spine BMD (r = 0.20, p < 0.01), trochanter BMD (r = 0.13, p < 0.01), and ward's BMD (r = 0.14, p < 0.01).

Conclusions

The results of the study suggest that there is a significant correlation between educational level and BMD. Losses in BMD for women of lower educational level tend to be relatively high, and losses in spine and femur BMD showed a decrease with increasing educational level.
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Metadata
Title
The relationship between educational level and bone mineral density in postmenopausal women
Authors
Ali Gur
Ayşegül Jale Sarac
Kemal Nas
Remzi Cevik
Publication date
01-12-2004
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Primary Care / Issue 1/2004
Electronic ISSN: 2731-4553
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2296-5-18

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