BONE-MINERAL DENSITY IN MIDDLE-AGED WOMEN WITH TURNERS-SYNDROME

Bone mineral density (BMD), bone mineral content and body composition were determined in 47 middle-aged (mean age 47.9 +/- 1.1 years) women with Turner's syndrome. Bone mineral density was measured in the forea rm, femoral neck and total body. The women investigated had a BMD lowe r than the normal mean, When expressed as Z scores (individual values compared to normal reference data matched for age, weight and sex), th e median Z score of the total body was -1.23. When comparing women wit h the karyotype 45,X and mosaic women, the latter showed a higher BMD in all sites of measurement. Duration of hormonal replacement therapy (HRT) differed significantly between the mosaic and the 45,X women, wi th a longer duration in the mosaic group (20.7 +/- 2 vs 12.1 +/- 2.6 y ears; p < 0.01). The duration of HRT was found to be the more importan t factor to maintain bone mass, not the karyotype, Bone mineral densit y increased with years of HRT but not until after > 20 years of HRT co uld a significant difference be shown between the women with HRT less than or equal to 20 years and those with HRT > 20 years, No correlatio n was found between BMD and body weight, body fat or percentage body f at. Whether the osteopenia found in women with Turner's syndrome is si milar to that found postmenopausally or is a specific form related to the chromosome aberration remains to be investigated further, The pres ent data support a relation to estrogen deficiency.